The Last Officers
by JagdPanther
Summary: One thousand years after the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, only two officers remained, reincarnated on Earth, and charged with leading very different people.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own anything even vaguely related to Sailor Moon. That's all Naoko Takeuchi's stuff. Anyway... Don't send the lawyers after me, please. I have a cousin who's an attorney in Washington, D.C. so if you get a bit adventurous I've got the big guns backing me up.

**WARNING: **I am taking some big creative licenses with this, mixing the manga and anime a lot, so please don't complain right off the bat about time frames being mixed up and stuff like that. This is not your typical SM fic. Trust me. It will greatly offend some SM fans, I promise (though I don't intend that). Please don't kill me. Critiques are welcome, letter bombs are not. And if you have read my other two fics (YUA The Siege and BGC2040 Shadow Guard), yes, I use essentially the same character name for my main character and a lot of the same background information. So I lack name creativity. Oh well. Actually he's just my generic character, so deal with it. I find it a challenge to see how I can fit him into any anime situation. This is my take on him in SM. And if you haven't read my other fics, thank God. You at least can't complain about my main character's reuse.

**The Last Officers**

**Prologue: Moving Forward**

**By JagdPanther**

It was around 6:00 PM when Christopher Rivera finished typing up and printing out an arrest report. He turned off his computer monitor, stood up, and grabbed his jacket off of his chair before heading downstairs to the parking garage. He didn't really need to work here. It wasn't necessary, but it was sort of enjoyable. Well, that wasn't entirely true. His current job in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department wasn't a choice as much as it was an order from his parent employer, the United States Army. He was on loan to Metro from the U.S. Army to train Metro's historically weak special units. Metro's Special Weapons and Tactics teams and their Special Assault Teams were essentially Japan's most elite units, since the JSDF wasn't allowed to have special operations units according to the Japanese constitution. His job also entailed working in Metro's investigations unit, since they were severely short-handed there. All in all, it was a fun job, getting to play with guns all day and bust criminals. The pay sucked, but that didn't matter. Chris had plenty of money.

Plenty of money that he'd been making on his own for years, that is. Chris's parents, both highly successful individuals, had started Chris in the stock market at a young age. His mother, a cardiovascular surgeon, had advised him to invest in medical companies. His father, a retired Army Brigadier General and now corporate attorney for Boeing Aerospace, had advised him to dabble in the defense industry. Chris had decided that he'd do what he wanted. Since the age of eleven, Chris had followed the market on his own and made his own decisions. With his summer earnings and a starter fund of $10,000 from his parents, he jumped into the market. The most prolific of his decisions occurred when, at 15, he invested $13,000 in Apple Computers when the stock was sitting at $11 in the early 2000s. The stock skyrocketed when the iPod craze hit the world. Within a year and a half, the stock had reached $88 per share and then split 3 for 1 before rising again, with Chris buying and selling shares along the way up to multiply his fortune. Coupled with other good (or at least lucky) decisions over the next decade or so, Chris had amassed a sizable fortune for someone still in his mid-20s. His net worth in stocks was well in excess of the first number with 7-digits, before adding his cash bank accounts.

The fortune allowed him to have a fairly good-sized apartment in Tokyo, a city which rivaled New York City in price. It also allowed him to have his baby, a pearl Spirit Blue Audi RS4. It was Audi's premiere sport racing model that was only offered in the German market. It was as nimble as a cat and as fast as a fighter jet, and Chris loved every second of driving it. He got into his car after exchanging pleasantries with a few officers arriving for their own late-evening-to-early-morning shift. The powerful Audi racing engine came to life and propelled him out of the parking garage and into the streets of Tokyo.

Despite having so many Western amenities with him, Tokyo would never really be home, though. Chris, surprisingly, hated living here. It wasn't that Tokyo was a bad place to live; it was just that Tokyo was, well, Tokyo. It wasn't Allentown; that was for sure. The small Pennsylvania town would always be his home. His entire life, Chris had only lived in small, quiet towns. Tokyo was a major culture-shock for him. Four years of living here were taking its toll on the American. Tokyo should've been great for Chris, since he was Japanese-American. But he sure as hell didn't look Japanese-American. His mother was an Asian-Caucasian mix, too, and his father Caucasian. Recessive Caucasian genes from his mother had bypassed the typically more dominant Asian genes and met up with his father's Caucasian genes to produce a Japanese-Italian-American who looked neither Japanese nor Italian. Chris's sister was decidedly more Asian-looking than him. She'd received the more dominant Asian gene. She even had the name to prove it. It was family tradition on their mother's side for girls to keep the family name, so his sister had a Japanese name while Chris had an Anglo-American name. People were always incredibly confused as to how the Japanese girl and Anglo-American boy could possibly be related by blood and explanations were generally required.

It was just one more part of Chris's strange life. 'So many things to worry about, so many things to do, so much control Tokyo has over my life,' he thought as he drove towards home. It was Friday, there were reports to write, movies to go see, sleep to catch up on, and other things.

But it's not like he had a choice. Nothing could save him from Tokyo. He was under orders from the U.S. Army to aid and assist the Metro department in training their special forces. Metro in turn wanted him to work in investigations because they were short handed. He'd never finished his MBA before going on active duty in the Army. Chris-the-Overachiever took night classes for that to complement his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. On top of all that, the Army still made Chris deal with intelligence analyst duties. That job was odd, because Chris was a combat infantryman by training. He'd always figured that his father had something to do with that appointment. Retired Brigadier General Joseph Rivera still had contacts in the active Army that he could influence. His father was probably too scared of seeing his son go into combat again after the 8-month long Malden Islands conflict in which Second Lieutenant Rivera had almost died multiple times leading an infantry platoon in the 101st Airborne Division. Then his parents had pretty much told (not asked) their son to go to Tokyo (which is probably when Joseph had made a few "phone calls" to get the intelligence analyst appointment) to look after his sister, who in her typical hot-headed independence had decided upon turning 16 that she'd rather live in Japan than America. She had spent the three previous years living in Japan, actually, but she traveled home each break during school and she had lived with relatives. But at 16 she wanted independence from the relatives. 'And if that wasn't enough,' he thought, 'I still have that other job; that other job that only a few select girls and a guy know about.'

As he pulled into the parking deck next to his apartment building, Chris continued reviewing his life in Tokyo. All in all, Chris hated his life, but at the same time loved his life. He was always busy, but everything he did had some positive factor to it. Working on improving the Japanese SWAT and SAT teams was highly aggravating at times, but satisfying because he knew that if these officers paid attention, they'd be more likely to survive when the worst situations faced them. Intelligence analysis was just plain boring, but he knew that someone had to do the job and his work helped keep China and Russia in check. Looking over his little sister was a terrible bother, but at least she was 20 now and that job was essentially over. And the "other" job in his life almost gave him several heart attacks over the past years, but the biggest perk was getting to hang around several really cute girls. One of the young women actually lived with him. That was the best part. Without her, this city would just make him want to cry. But her… She made his entire life worthwhile. She was the best thing that ever happened to him. 'I don't know what I'd do without her,' he thought, collecting his mail from his box on the ground floor before walking up to his 10th floor apartment by stair.

There were some bills. "Bills, bills, bills. They never stop coming," he said to no one in particular. "A letter from Keio University, hmm. I wonder what that's about. Her tuition is paid up." Chris paid for his girlfriend's tuition to one of Japan's most prestigious universities. He pampered her, but it was just his nature. Plus her parents certainly didn't mind. There was a large manila envelope from the Department of the Defense. "Great. What else can they possibly drop on me now? Well, it wasn't hand delivered so it can't be too bad. If it were classified crap they'd have sent a courier to me directly." He had a tendency to talk to himself at times. Some other various things, including a large, white envelope were in the mail. The large, white envelope designed to keep standard letter paper flat and unfolded caught his eye. "A packet from the Japanese Olympic Commission! I hope it's what I think it is. It has to be. There's no way they said 'no.' They don't send packets this big to people they say 'no' to! She'll be so happy! Yes!"

Opening the door to his apartment, he smelled food and heard the sounds of cooking. 'Hmm, she got home before me again. I wonder what she's making. Her cooking has become pretty good since I met her, jeez, what, 4 years ago now. Amazing how time flies.' He quietly closed the door and slipped off his shoes. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend. With the Japanese Olympic Commission letter in hand, he crept up behind the pretty young woman watching TV while stirring a pot of noodles. The letter had to be a positive one. 'This would be the antidote to years of disappointment for her,' thought Chris. He was just about to put his arms around his girlfriend's waist when she spoke.

"Hello, honey. How was your day?" His girlfriend had heard the key enter the lock. She had very good hearing.

"Damn, so close. I can never pull one over on you." Chris just smiled and responded, "Not too bad, but no matter how your day was, I think it's about to get a whole lot better." He kissed her on the forehead as she turned around and flashed a broad smile.

"Why so?"

"Here." He handed her the packet and waited for her reaction.

Immediately her free hand came to her mouth. "Oh my God! Oh my God! It's here! It's finally here! I can't believe it! Woohoo!" She walked over to the counter and opened the drawer under the phone to get a letter opener. Carefully, she slit the packet open and extracted the contents out onto the table. On top of everything else in the packet there was a single white sheet of paper with the International Olympic Commission logo next to the Japanese Olympic Commission logo in the header. She only needed to read the first sentence of the letter before she burst into tears. Chris was looking over her shoulder but couldn't see the letter. He backed away when she spun around quickly and jumped onto him, hugging him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she choked out through tears; tears of joy and elation.

Chris picked his girlfriend up in happiness and hugged her even tighter. He set her down on top of the counter before pushing her back a bit and looking into her red-rimmed eyes. "Why are you thanking me? You did everything. It's your talent, not mine."

"Without you, I would've never, ever thought of practicing again and trying out. I always thought my duties as a _senshi _prevented me from doing anything for myself like this. But I learned differently from you. It's all because of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated, latching onto him again. Behind them, the pot of noodles was about to boil over. Dinner wouldn't be the best they'd ever had, but none of that mattered anymore. They were just happy that something abnormal for other people was tonight their first step towards being a normal couple.

The letter, slightly disheveled and wet from tears, fell from her grip and floated to the counter. The first sentence read simply, "Congratulations, you've made it!" For Aino Minako, it meant that everything about the past six years of her life was finally behind her. Now she could be normal in a not-so-normal way. Not every girl, after all, was selected for the Japanese Olympic volleyball team. It wasn't too normal, but anything was better than fighting and dying (again). Maybe she could still become an idol. 'No, one thing at a time,' she thought, still clinging to Chris, still crying and smiling. 'Well, two things at a time. I still have to finish the university.' The unopened letter from Keio University on the table by the door was about her tuition. It was going up again. Oh, well. Chris would pay for that.

QUESTIONS AND COMENTS: Bravo26Flashpoint(at)yahoo(dot)com You can tell I LOVE how deals with e-mail addys in stories


	2. Chapter 1

**The Last Officers**

**Chapter 1: I Hate the _Polizei_**

**By JagdPanther**

The metallic blue Oakley sunglasses on Chris's face slipped forward a bit when the car jerked to a stop. "Thanks. Why don't you do it again in case the guy you almost hit didn't have a heart attack the first time?"

"Shut up," responded Chris's pseudo-partner. So Kenji had been a little distracted while driving to the restaurant. It happens. At least he'd noticed he was drifting towards the curb in time to stop. "Here you go." Kenji pulled forward from his stop a bit and parked the car in a spot.

"Thanks for the lift. I'll see you tomorrow." Chris nodded to his partner and got out of the car. He sprinted across the street, beating some traffic in the process, and walked slowly towards the Crown Game Center. For the past few months, he'd essentially been stalking his sister. He knew where she frequented, and this was surprisingly one of them. It was odd, he thought, that'd she be here. She wasn't the kind of girl to go regularly to an arcade/eatery. Maybe she was gathering intelligence on the Inner _senshi. _Oh, well. She never ceased amazing him. He stepped inside and began scanning for his sister. Today he'd reveal his presence to her. She didn't know that their parents had ordered Chris to watch over her. Chris was surprised that his parents, despite how "cool" they were, let his teenaged sister just gallivant off in Japan like this, that was until he found out that he was the secret stipulation. 'I cannot believe that I agreed to this. Well, actually, yeah, I can. I just… Crap, whatever.' He located the girls. They were sitting at their usual table, and not out and about the arcade consoles. 'This makes things easier. It just seems that the girls would piss the hell out of her. She's usually so mature. Well, um, not as mature as thinks she is. She's actually really immature.'

Chris approached the table. His sister's back was to him. 'Good.' He snatched a chair from the table behind the one the girls were at and plopped it next to their table. As he did so, he caught the tail end of a question by Usagi.

"…do you wear that cross? Isn't that a Christian symbol?"

Ten'ou Haruka couldn't answer because she was too busy looking shocked at the sight of her brother sitting down next to her. Chris looked at Usagi. "You're asking the question in the wrong manner. She's Roman Catholic, like me." He turned to Haruka. "Why DO you wear that? You're even less of a practicing-Catholic than I am. It doesn't seem very 'you.'"

Michiru was the first to react. "And who exactly are you?"

Chris extended his hand. "Christopher Rivera. Pleased to meet you. And you are?"

"Kaioh Michiru. How do you know that about Haruka? Are you a former boyfriend, perhaps?" Michiru was concerned over how this Caucasian guy could possibly know anything about her significant other.

Chris grinned before returning his eyes to his sister. "You didn't tell them that I existed, did you? Ahahahahahaha!" He laughed quite loudly while Haruka sank back into her seat. For the first time ever, the girls saw Haruka lose her macho outer covering and be honestly abashed and vulnerable. "This is high quality. What else did you fail to mention?" He smiled broadly. "Well, for your information," he said, turning to address the other girls, "I am Haruka-chan's older brother." The table, which was already dead silent, began feeling like a black hole as the girl's expressions soundlessly shifted into ones of utter confusion. "And obviously she is embarrassed about being my sister, so she didn't tell you about me. I'm hurt, Haruka. I really am." Despite his words, he continued to smile. 'Humiliating your little sister in front of all her peers is SO fun!' he thought.

It took just a second, but he looked around the table and quickly took a mental snapshot of each girl's face, matching it against a corresponding mental snapshot of each Sailor _senshi's_ face. 'Wow, that's odd. I wonder why more people don't recognize them. There's got to be something more to this. I'll have to investigate this discretely. Maybe they know why.' The only two _senshi_ of the Sol system missing from the table were the _senshi_ of Pluto and Saturn. No one here had seen Saturn's current form. Setsuna already knew Chris was here, anyway. They weren't co-conspirators for nothing.

"Why are you here, Chris? How long have you been here? How'd you know I was here?" Haruka's tone became angrier as the questions kept coming.

"What, you thought mom and dad would just let you, a teenaged girl, live here in Japan all by yourself? Yeah right. They sent me over here to make sure that you don't get into any trouble. You're still a U.S. citizen and a minor. You have to have a legal guardian if you're on a minor visa. I am that legal guardian. I'm not a Japanese citizen, either, but I can act as your local guardian since I'm military." Chris looked back to the rest of the girls. "Anyway, pleased to meet you all. And you are?" Chris started with Makoto, seated next to him on the other side of the table from Haruka. He went counterclockwise until each girl had introduced herself.

"Chris, you still didn't answer my questions," growled Haruka. She was incredibly frustrated at her privacy having been violated in such a manner, and by her own family, no less!

"You still haven't answered my question," he jibed back.

Ami was the first to speak to the discrepancy in appearance of the supposed brother and sister, since Michiru was still overcoming the revelation that Haruka had hidden something from her. "Um, excuse me, but do you mean blood siblings?"

Haruka and Chris answered in unison, "Yes."

She still wasn't convinced. "But Chris-san, you're Caucasian and have an American name, whereas Haruka-san is Asian and has a Japanese name. How is that possible?"

"Don't ask," they again answered in unison.

"But…"

"I'll explain it later." Once again, word for word in unison. Both then sighed and pulled out their wallets, producing pictures of their family. Sure enough, there were younger Chris's and Haruka's standing in front of two adults.

"Yes, they're brother and sister all right," Ami conceded, bashfully.

"You don't need to watch over me. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, that's debatable. Doesn't matter, anyway. Whether you like it or not I'm staying here in Tokyo. I've been assigned here by the Army, anyway, so I can't leave even if I wanted to. You're stuck with me." He stuck his tongue out at her. "Besides, I haven't seen you much in the last 3 years. You've been on this side of the big lake too much! I want to spend some 'quality time' with my sister." He made air quotes with his fingers around "quality time."

Haruka switched to English. "Don't bother me. I am perfectly capable of living without your support. Why I want to live here rather than America is of no concern to you. Just leave me be."

Chris answered in Japanese. "Again, debatable. Where's your money coming from? Oh, that's right, our parental figures."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Oh, real mature."

"What, like you are? Hah, yeah right. I wonder what kind of impression everyone here has. I should compare their ideas against what you're really like. Besides, we haven't spent any time together since I rotated back home from Malden. You're my little sister after all."

"You served in Malden? What did you do?" That was Rei. She tried to keep up on current events for her International Relations class at TA. And she wanted to try and break up the little family feud everyone was watching go back and forth.

Chris nodded. "Yes, I was an infantry platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division. My platoon was one of only three platoons to serve from the very first day of the conflict all the way to the end. That was eight months of pure hell, too. Nothing like it in the world." Chris purposely added the last part to see what if any reaction came across the vaunted Sailor _senshi_, especially the Inners, each of whom had died once before and then been revived by the Silver Crystal. There was only a slight reaction on their faces, but anyone could have attributed that to the imagery. They did each exchange knowing glances, though, as if to say 'Yeah, we know.' 'Yeah, they know what combat is like all right. And that's good. They need to build upon those experiences so that they can succeed in their new mission. Their previous endeavors will pale in comparison to this.' Setsuna and he had already discussed initial thoughts on what was going on, with heart crystals being stolen and all. The outlook didn't look so good.

Michiru spoke next. "You said that the Army reassigned you here. But there aren't any American combat troops in or around Tokyo."

"This is true, and that's the strange thing. I was assigned to Station Tokyo to be a NATO intelligence analyst, which in itself is rather strange because this is the Pacific, not the Atlantic. Also, I'm not an intelligence analyst by training so I am not sure what is going on. I have my suspicions, but I have yet to actually tell my father that he was clever to burn some favors."

Rolling her eyes, Haruka quipped, "Because of me?"

"Yeah, I figure you're the reason. But I have no proof so at this point it's all just speculation." Chris motioned to a waitress. "Can I get a cup of black coffee? I don't need cream or sugar." The waitress smiled and nodded, shuffling off to fill the order.

Minako made a face and spat, "Blech, I hate coffee. How can you drink that stuff?"

"Oh, don't worry. In time you'll learn to like it. I have yet to meet someone that doesn't eventually start drinking the stuff. I started really early, like around 12. My mom didn't start drinking until after I was born."

"Gee, I wonder why."

Chris simply shook his head at his sister. "Why do you have to be so hostile? What did I ever do to you?"

"That's not the point. You're invading my life. I don't need nor want this, especially not now." Haruka was flush with anger.

"Aw, how cute. You're flushed. Look, get over it. I am not too keen on spying on you, either. But I have my orders from mom and dad. They're worried about you, as am I. You're young in a foreign country. Yeah, you may be able to take care of yourself, and no matter how much you want your complete independence, you're not able to achieve it quite yet. Don't make this any more difficult for either of us. I could just become very autocratic and control your every move. You know I can, too." Chris reached over and patted his sister on the head, much to her chagrin. "I know you hate this. Just let it go, all right? Please. I don't want you to be angry."

It was when Chris reached over that Minako's eye caught a glint of light off of a metal object inside Chris's jacket. "What the hell is that?" she blurted out in English, not wanting to sound like an idiot in front of her friends in case she was wrong. "Is that a gun?"

Chris shot her a confused glance, not sure what language he'd just heard. "You speak English?"

"Yes."

"Uh huh. Well, you speak it with a very nice accent. You must have lived in London."

It was Aino Minako's turn to be confused. "How can you tell that just by how I talk? Yeah, I lived there for a few years."

"Accents are very telling. Londoners have different accents than people from Dover or Cambridge, etc. People who learn English in London tend to pick those traits up even more. Anyway, yes, this is a gun." Despite the fact that only four people at the table could understand the exchange, it continued in English. The only other English-speaker besides Haruka with a good enough grasp of the language to understand was Michiru.

Confirming her suspicions, Minako went back to Japanese. "Why are you carrying a gun? Those are highly illegal in Japan."

"Ah, yes, I know that they are. I don't feel safe without one, though. Makes me feel very naked to not have one." Chris smiled, but killed it when he saw that no one took the joke. "I'm a police officer, that's why. Part of the reason I am here is because the Army has assigned me to train the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's special operations units up to a respectable level. Your police force's special units are terribly weak. I'm teaching them things that I thought they'd already know. And in addition to that, Metro's investigations division is really shorthanded, so they have me helping out there."

"Uh huh." Minako wasn't pleased. She'd liked foreigner until she'd found out who he was working for in Japan. "Forgive me, but I hate the police. I just don't like them. Bad experiences." Not everyone was being hunted down by the London police, like Sailor V.

Chris laughed. "That's quite all right. I hate the _polizei_, too. I'm not too fond of them. I'm just following orders, like a good soldier. My superiors in U.S. Army Special Operations Command tell me to work with them and I have to say yes."

"The _polizei_?" asked Makoto.

"That's 'police' in German," answered Ami.

"I don't think that a good soldier is necessarily one that strictly follows orders blindly. I think it's a soldier's duty to question their orders to themselves to make sure that they're ethical orders. Questioning their orders aloud is damaging, but not if the order is wrong. Illegal orders are damaging to the whole system." That was Minako's inner leader coming out. She had strong views about how soldiers should serve, especially since she took her job as a _senshi _so seriously. She'd given up so much in her life for this, and someone who tried to tell her something about soldiers that she didn't agree with was in for a nasty lashing. The sight was extremely rare, and her friends around her were inwardly horrified to see the bubbly, constantly-giggling Minako become so vile.

"I fully agree with you, Minako-chan. That's a very intelligent observation. I was sort of spoofing 'orders' by what I said. Trust me, I don't agree with every order I am given. I'm what's considered a 'renegade' soldier by many officers because I actually happen to be very unorthodox. During the war I had a track record of disobeying orders that I believed would get my men killed and not accomplish anything. I could've easily been court-martialed except that my superior's superiors relieved them and let me off the hook because they agreed with my actions. That having been said, I think that in most cases, disobeying an order is incredibly destructive to the military command process. If everyone was disobeying orders whenever they felt like it, nothing would ever get done and a lot of people would die."

"I would guess so. That's the problem with the military, though. It attempts to disregard all human emotions and assume that everyone can make decisions like a robot. I guess the mission always theoretically comes first, but how many soldiers have survived conflicts only on that?" That last jibe was Minako's personal jab at Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, whoever they were. Minako didn't like their "only the mission and screw everything else" mentality. She would unhesitatingly sacrifice herself for the Princess, but only if giving her life was the absolute final resort. Always exhaust every option before exercising the most destructive one, she thought.

But Minako was being philosophical. That was worrying the others. Something was wrong. She was never like this. In fact, if anything, she was always misquoting something, remembering some event completely wrong, or just generally being ditzy. But what they didn't realize that this was Minako, their commander. She wasn't a ditz, she wasn't stupid, but she was an intelligent, fine woman and officer. She and Chris would have their deep conversations more and more as time went on. They were, after all, the last officers. They were it. There were no commissioned officers of the White Moon Kingdom military left except for them. And that bond would be what kept them together.

It was the Sailor Venus' job to lead the rest of the _senshi _and to protect the princess and heiress of the White Moon Kingdom. But whose job was it to protect the protectors, the princesses of the allied kingdoms? That job fell to Chris. It was the last standing order that he'd ever received from the Central Command Authority, which was White Moon Kingdom military-lingo for Queen Serenity. Protect them at all costs.

* * *

The outpost was somewhere that if you were stationed there, you knew there was a high chance you were going to see some action. That's why it had a high number of soldiers who were the gung-ho "I want to kick someone's ass!" type. But the majority of the soldiers there were the type that did not want to see any action. It wasn't that they wouldn't fight if they had to; it was just that they would prefer to never have to use the skills that they had trained for years to use. Death was constantly tugging at their side, but it was a job that they all knew they had to do to. Chris knew that better than most anyone at the outpost. He was one of the youngest officers there, but he was already on his third combat tour of duty. Chris remained sane by being a completely atypical military officer.

Chris sighed loudly to no one in particular. The paperwork on his desk was piled high and there was no end in sight. It was odd that someone considered a "renegade" officer was sitting at a desk doing the very thing he always joked about disregarding. Most senior officers considered him to be very disrespectful and disruptive. He was always out of uniform, he was always breaking the no-fraternization rules with enlisted personnel, he was always doing pranks, and many other things. But the senior officers could never do anything about the young lieutenant, or, rather, they didn't want to because they knew that Chris was by far their most experienced and best officer. He could lead a platoon better than anyone else on the base. Chris kept requesting to be reassigned back to the outpost because he knew that all the time he was there, one less green officer had to face deadly combat out here. He knew, quite arrogantly to some if they knew he thought it, that all the time he was here, more soldiers would be able to make it back home alive to their families. Hopefully.

It helped that no one knew who he really was. Chris considered what it'd be like if his superiors knew who he was. If they knew he was the Prince of Uranus, they'd never let him anywhere near the front, let alone this outpost. They'd always be too frightened that something would happen and they'd be blamed. They'd assign him some cushy job, too, and Chris would've hated that. He didn't like combat, but when he was fighting, he felt like he was useful. He felt like he had the power to make a difference. That's where his bravado came in. Chris was one of the loudest officers anyone had ever met. He always made up hair-brained ideas in combat and broke the rules. Anything, he always said, to get the job done with the least amount of casualties. There was no sense in completing a mission if everyone died doing it, because who'd fight the next time? Just as there was no sense in saving everyone if nothing was ever accomplished, because the enemy would just fight even harder next time.

There were plenty of drawbacks to being out here, though. There weren't many amenities of home. The entertainment was scarce, food was fairly bad, and the quarters were shoddy at best (not to mention almost nightly enemy raids), but at least they got good alcohol imported from Venus and Jupiter on a regular basis. The majority of the soldiers at the base were from the outer rim planets of Pluto, Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus, but there were a few soldiers from the inner planets. Chris had a few very good Venusian and Martian fighters in his platoon.

This outpost was the farthest out of the five major large outposts of the White Moon Kingdom. It was on a planet uninhabited by humanoid beings, but still key to the region. From this planet, any enemy of the White Moon could strike with little or no warning. But that's what the outpost was there for. Since it was so far out, though, when time for leave came around, soldiers couldn't go to the heart of the kingdom since it took too long. That's why Chris usually just went to Pluto. Other than his sister, Chris really only had frequent "royal" contact with the princess of Pluto. Chris was several years older than the next closest royal of this generation in the White Moon Kingdom Alliance, anyway. And they were all girls. As the first born of this generation of royals, Chris had received a lot of fanfare as a child. He had disappeared a few years before into the military and assumed a different identity to avoid any special treatment. Most people had suspicions that Chris was the prince, but he constantly denied it. He said that just because he was from Uranus and looked like the prince didn't mean that he was the prince. "Oh, here we go again. I am sick of this! It's just a coincidence! I don't even know the guy, jeez. Give me a break," was his usual response when someone asked.

The paperwork just wouldn't end. He had requisition forms, contact reports, leave papers to authorize, everything. He also should probably write a letter home to his parents and one to his sister. At least no one read his mail. That pointed directly to his royal roots.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Chris figured that he should probably break for now and go grab some food in the mess hall. He hadn't eaten all day since he'd spent most of it running a training exercise for the entire company. Before he could stand there was a knock on the door. "It's open."

"Lieutenant?"

"Hey Adonis. What's going on?" The young Corporal from Venus was on his second tour of duty. He had potential to be a great NCO, if not a commissioned officer, thought Chris. The leadership qualities were definitely there. He had the smarts to make it off this rock alive.

"Sir, the Colonel wants to see you."

"Did he say if it can wait or not? I'm kind of hungry."

"He said it was fairly important, so I guess you may not have time for that, sir."

Chris grumbled out a "well, damn" before nodding his head. "All right, thanks for the information, Adonis. I'll see you later, then."

"Your welcome, sir." Adonis saluted his platoon commander and then left to get some food himself. He'd been stuck running errands for the Colonel all day when he'd rather have been doing Chris's training exercise. He'd need all the knowledge he could get to survive.

Chris cleaned up his desk, exited his quarters, and locked the door before heading down the hall towards the administrative wing. He passed a fellow platoon leader in the hallway.

"Hey, Chris! You've got to come with us later to the Officers Club! They got a shipment in of this Venusian wine they've never had here. It's supposed to be absolutely incredible."

"I'll try, but I've got a ton of paperwork to do. Plus the Old Man wants to see me right now."

"Oh, what did you do this time?"

"Shut up," Chris shot back, smiling. "You know, contrary to popular belief, I am not always summoned for doing something stupid."

"Well make him wait, then, and at least come try some of the stuff now. You haven't eaten yet, I know."

"No alcohol on an empty stomach, and no, I can't. It's supposed to be something important and I'd better not piss him off by blowing him off after that stunt I pulled last week."

"Ah, you're going soft on, me, Chris. All right, you go to your 'important' meeting. I'll see you later."

Chris walked up to the door of the Colonel's office and knocked lightly.

"Enter," came the terse reply. He was always in such a cheery mood, Chris noted.

Chris opened the door and poked his head in. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah, yes, Lieutenant. Come in. I have some news for you." He waited for Chris to close the door and turn around. "You're being reassigned."

Chris's mouth dropped to the floor. "What?"

"Don't worry; it's not for anything bad. You're just being reassigned. This came in from General Command HQ today." The Colonel handed over a message.

The young lieutenant took the message from his commander and read it quickly. 'Report to WHITE ROCK on or about the 27th of this month for permanent duty reassignment. That's the codename for the Moon Palace. Why do they want me to report there? It doesn't say. Damnit, what is this? At least they're giving me two weeks of leave before I have to be there. I guess I'll put in to go home. I haven't seen my family in well over a year.' He grimaced and looked at the Colonel. "Sir, but I have four months left on my tour. Is someone going to replace me? You can't be short a platoon leader, not now."

"I know, I don't want to lose my most experienced junior officer, but I have to go with what command says. I'm sorry son, but that's just the way it is. Pack your stuff. You leave tomorrow morning. A replacement is on the way right now." He stood up and walked around the table, extending his hand. "You've given me a lot of grief, Lieutenant, but by damn if you aren't one of the best combat leaders that I've ever seen. It'll be a shame to lose you. Good luck in whatever they're making you do."

And with the handshake, it was sealed. Chris was no longer a frontlines combat officer. He was moving on to something else; something much different than he'd ever expected.

* * *

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS: Bravo26Flashpoint(at)yahoo(dot)com (You can tell I LOVE how deals with e-mail addys in stories) 


	3. Chapter 2

**The Last Officers**

**Chapter 2: Your Mission, Should You Accept It**

**By JagdPanther**

Chris walked cautiously down the hall, trying to keep his sister from noticing him. But that couldn't be helped. There was no where to hide. Haruka noticed him and rushed at him with her arms spread, "Chris! You're home!"

"Hey squirt!" He hugged his little sister tightly, savoring the warm feeling of family. It'd been over a year since he'd seen her. "Wow, you're getting tall! Not so much of a 'squirt' anymore. And you're becoming very pretty, too. All the boys will be thinking about you, if they aren't already." She really was. Her pale blue dress really accented her eyes, he noticed. And her pale blonde hair was very shiny and smooth, only supercharging her beauty. The Princess of Uranus was incredibly pretty. Someday she'd make a wonderful queen of their home planet, he thought. Chris had no intention of taking the throne, despite being next in line. It just wasn't in his future. Too bothersome.

Haruka playfully jabbed her older brother in the ribs. "Chris, stop treating me like that. I'm not a little child anymore. I've grown up a lot since you last saw me. Not that I was a child last time. I'm old enough to go active duty in the military." On Uranus, joining the military was a big thing. It was a very honorable and patriotic thing to do, and almost required of royalty.

"Ah, you'd be no good for the military. You're too pretty, smart, and adventurous to make it in a strict hierarchical group like the military. Plus you'd offend all the guys by being better at them in everything." In the 21st Century on Earth, it would absolutely shock Chris just how different his sister's personality was from her form during the time of the White Moon Kingdom.

She smiled and pulled her brother down the hall towards the royal office where their parents were. "Stop it; I'll make a good soldier. I'm already coming along really well in my training to become apart of the royal bodyguards for the princess. Everyday I make a gain. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but always positive."

"Really? That's wonderful. You know, I bumped into Captain Lavan on the way up from the dock. He said you're becoming quite skillful with a sword. You'll have to show me while I'm here."

Haruka frowned as they walked through the halls of the Castle Miranda. "What do you mean, 'while I'm here'? You're leaving soon? You just got here!"

He really didn't want to disappoint his sister like this, but he couldn't lie to her. "Yes, I'm only here for two weeks and then I have to report to the Moon. I'm being reassigned."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, that's right, your tour was supposed to last longer. Why are you being reassigned?"

"That's what I'd like to know. I'm being kept in the dark on this one."

"Well, hopefully it's not anything dangerous like being at the outpost. I hate when you're out there. I always worry about you. Michiru says I'm going to make myself sick worrying about you so much."

The name took a second to click. "You speak with her a lot?"

"Not just that, we train together all the time. She's my best friend." The Princess of Neptune was at her own castle now, training like Haruka to be apart of the royal bodyguards. The princesses from the outer planets were to protect the Moon Princess from out here, though. They'd rarely get a chance to actually work alongside their inner-planet counterparts, all a slight bit younger, but just as talented.

"Really? That's good. I've met her before only a few times. The last time was quite a few years ago. But Lavan told me that she's become quite good, too. She can't match you stride for stride, but she's very skilled."

"No, she can. She just lets my ego have its way." Haruka winked and stuck her tongue out. She knew she was full of herself when it came to her abilities, but oh well. Just let anyone try and take her on. No one on the planet could beat her in any form of competition. Except her older brother, but no one ever mentioned that to her. It'd only piss her off and make her overwork herself in training.

Soon they arrived at the royal office. The name was a little deceiving. It was actually more of a study where the king and queen could have their private time doing work, reading, or just sitting quietly together enjoying a moment alone. The queen noticed the prince and princess as soon as they entered the large room and lightly hit her husband on the arm. Looking up from a book on the pincer combat formation maneuver, the king was overjoyed. "Christopher! Son, get over here!"

The Prince of Uranus walked over and hugged his father. "Hey, dad. Long time no see, huh?"

"You bet your behind, Christopher! How are you?" He released his son and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm fine, dad. I'm alive and that's what counts being out there." Chris parted with his father and turned to his mother.

"Christopher, I'm so glad that you're all right. I hate when you're out there." The queen hugged her son tightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Why are you home? Your tour isn't over for a few more months."

"Good question. I don't know, either. I was wondering if you knew, maybe, dad?"

"No idea. I'm not complaining that you're off the line, but I don't know. All I know is that someone made the decision to reassign you."

"Wonderful. Then no one except whoever made the decision back on the Moon knows." He sighed loudly. "I guess I'll find out in a few weeks when I arrive at General Headquarters." The White Moon Kingdom's military headquarters was a short distance from the vast palace, home of Queen Serenity. It had a wonderful view of the grand lake and the palace from the higher floors.

Before continuing the reunion with her son, though, the queen turned to her daughter. "Haruka, what is this I hear about you climbing out of your room last night from the balcony? You know how dangerous that is! What were you thinking?"

Chris laughed. "Woah, what did you do?" He mussed up his sister's hair. "Going out for some late night rendezvous? Hah!"

Haruka blushed crimson and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, mom. I was just restless and felt like going out for a walk. It was a beautiful night. I wanted to see if I could climb down. It was a little challenge for me."

"You could've fallen to your death!" The queen was quite scared of losing both her children to stupid things like combat and falling from a balcony.

Haruka looked up, and tried explaining that, "I was being careful, though."

The king frowned at his daughter. "Haruka, dear, that's what everyone says before they slip. Please don't do that again. Doors and hallways exist for a reason."

"Yes, father." Her ego was taking a hit and that was never good. This only meant that she'd try it again until she was able to climb down to the garden below her room, go for a walk, and climb back up without being noticed. But the royal guards were paid and sworn to prevent people from getting into the princess's room. And what about when the person who was trying to get up there was the princess herself? They couldn't let anything happen to her, whether someone else did it to her or she did it to herself. Oh, well.

Chris knew that this conversation was going to take place again sometime in the near future. He leaned over and cupped his hand over her ear, whispering, "Don't worry, Haruka. I used to do the same thing. It's possible."

She giggled and batted his hand away. "Oh, we'll see, we'll see."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing important, mom. She won't get caught doing that ever again."

The king picked up on Chris's choice of words. "That's what concerns me. Or better yet, she won't ever get caught alive doing that again."

"Come on, dad. She's just like me in that respect. She's too adventurous. I say let her be."

"Are you her father?"

"No."

"Well then be quiet."

"Yes, sir," he responded sheepishly.

The king and queen smiled to each other. They had two very wonderful children and they knew it. For the rest of the morning, the royal family of Uranus sat and talked while not-so-pressing royal matters went unattended. There would be a big feast that night because the prince was back after a long tour of duty on the front, and when a warrior of Uranus came back unharmed there was always cause for celebration, especially for this warrior.

* * *

Chris stood at military rest in front of Queen Serenity, not quite believing what he'd just heard. As respectfully as possible, he blurted out, "You want me to what, your majesty? Because it sounded like you said that…" 

The queen waited for him to finish. "Yes, that's exactly what you heard, Lieutenant. I want you to provide protection for the princesses of the Kingdom's allied planets."

"Um, with all due respect, your majesty, isn't it odd that there are eight princesses to protect Princess Serenity, but only one prince to protect all eight princesses, especially when half of them won't even be stationed around Princess Serenity?" In American military lingo hundreds of years later, this would be known as a SNAFU. The translation was quite vulgar.

"You'll have command of a small platoon to protect all of them. However, it would be wise to deploy your soldiers to protect the princesses from the outer planets, including your sister. But it's your decision on how to use your platoon. As part of your job, you will also handle administrative duties for the princesses. They will be commissioned as an official unit within the military, but I would like for you to handle their administrative functions so that their leader can focus on her other duties."

Chris was beginning to think that maybe it would've been better to stay out at the outpost and disobeyed this order. But then again, hindsight was always 20/20. No getting out of this assignment, no matter how horribly difficult it seemed. Protecting four princesses by himself, and another four with only a platoon? That wasn't even a squad per princess for the outer planets! Wasn't this what each castle had a royal bodyguard contingent for? Why did he have to beef up their security? Maybe he was supposed to form the platoon to be a behind-the-scenes shadow protection, or something. 'What a wonderful assignment. How many ways can I screw this up, I wonder?' he thought to himself. Naturally he'd accept. "I fully accept my duties placed before me, your majesty. I live to serve." He showed typical military determination in his voice. 'Yeah, and I may just have to kill myself. Thanks. Thanks a lot.' Thinking back over what the queen had said, he asked. "By the way, your majesty, you said that I will be handling administrative duties to free up the leader's time. Do you know who the bodyguards' leader will be, then?"

Queen Serenity responded cheerfully, as usual. Her words weren't always cheerful to the receiver, but she never lost her smile or chipper voice. That pissed a lot of military personnel off, used to hearing their superiors match their voice to the words coming out. "Yes. Their leader will be the princess of Venus. She's attending the Officer Academy on Mars right now and will be graduating next year. For the next few months I'd like you to select your soldiers for your platoon. You have complete authority to request any soldier from the allied militaries including the Moon Kingdom's military." The militaries of each planet in the Alliance were loosely referred to as the White Moon Kingdom Military, even though they were all theoretically separate entities, just under one unified command. "Once you have selected your soldiers, I'd like you to begin training them. I want you to also spend at least a few weeks with each of the princesses to get to know them better and see how their own training has progressed. I know that you've met them all before but don't know them as well as you know the princess of Pluto.

'She knows where I take my leave each time? Right… That's kind of creepy.' Setsuna and Chris had always been great friends. They'd always enjoyed each other's company, but both doubted that anything would ever happen between each other. Setsuna, was, of course, the heir to the Gates of Time. It was her curse, in a way. "The Officer Academy on Mars, your majesty? The princess is only a little bit younger than my sister. Even I wasn't in the Officer Academy at that young an age." The Martian Officer Academy was the Alliance's most prestigious military school, even more so than the military academies on Jupiter and Uranus. Enrollment was ridiculously low. Only the absolute best of the best got in. Chris's uniform featured a blood-red stripe down his right sleeve, denoting his graduation from the Martian Officer Academy.

"She's very capable, Lieutenant. Her and my daughter get along quite well together. I can just tell by watching her that she'll be a fine leader for the bodyguards. Also, she is best friends with the Princess of Mars. She's enjoying herself on Mars in addition to learning about becoming a military officer. I'd like you to be with her during at least her last month in the Academy. This is your mission. I have great faith in you, Lieutenant. I did not pick you because you are also a prince. I picked you because you are one of the Alliance's best officers. Given your past, I expect nothing less than the best of you."

"Yes, your majesty. I will not fail you." He put on his best face. 'Yeah, right. I'm so dead.'

Queen Serenity smiled and nodded. "Very good. Thank you, Lieutenant. General Karine is waiting for you outside to get your started on selecting your platoon."

"Thank you, you majesty." Chris saluted the queen, spun on his heels, and walked out of the throne room. Military officers always saluted the queen; they did not bow to her. 'Wow, this just might be the last thing I ever do. One guy, essentially, to protect eight?' "What am I getting myself in to?" Chris stopped short and looked around. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did, Lieutenant." General Karine of Mercury, Queen Serenity's military Chief of Staff, the only Mercurial to ever reach that position, walked up next to the young Lieutenant from Uranus. He waved off Chris's salute. "Trust me; I don't envy your job at all. But apparently the queen would like to keep this as discrete as possible."

"Is there something you're not telling me, General?" Chris was curious as to why this was the first bodyguards-for-the-bodyguards unit he'd ever heard of. "Is something wrong?"

General Karine looked around to make sure no one was around before responded. "I guess that you're entitled to know." He sighed before continuing. "We're not entirely sure, but there are some rumblings in intelligence that there are forces moving against the Alliance, if not soon then at least over the next few years, and that they may want to strike directly at the queen and or Princess Serenity. And if they were smart, they'd take out the princess's bodyguards first."

Chris could only say, "Wow. That made me feel a whole lot better."

The General grimaced. "Welcome to the Moon, Lieutenant. Let's get you started."

* * *

The summer months on Mars felt like if you didn't find shade you'd burst into flames. It didn't help that this planet's element was fire. Those with special abilities here all could conjure up fire. Chris wondered why the planet couldn't be more like Mercury; incredibly hot but everyone there was ice element. At least they could make their own air conditioning. Here they just made it worse. 

But the heat sure didn't stop graduation. Chris remembered his own graduation from the Martian Officer Academy. That day hadn't been quite as hot today, but when the temperature was only a few degrees different, who cared? Hot was hot. At least while he'd been here observing he hadn't had to go on any of the forced marches or training exercises like all the undergrads. He'd hated those more than anything at the Academy. But, admittedly, the tolerance for crappy conditions you gained while at the Academy did come in handy in combat; you were less likely to complain and make everyone else more miserable.

Since being given the assignment of protecting the princesses, he'd selected his platoon and trained them. The platoon consisted of six women and nine men. It wasn't a platoon. It was an oversized squad. But those were the only ones that had made the cut. Eventually he'd have to recruit more. But this would have to do for now. Three per outer planet and three to help him on the Moon. There were enough with him on the Moon to send one with each princess supposing they all went home at the same time, meaning that Chris would have to go with one princess to make it equal.

At least he liked the princess of Venus, he mused to himself as the graduation ceremony proceeded slowly, as usual. They tried to torture the graduates one last time before they let them go. The extremely selective Academy was only graduating fifty-nine officers this year, even less than Chris's class of sixty-two, before then the record smallest class. Another record was being broken this year, too. The princess of Venus was the youngest Academy graduate ever, breaking the record held by Chris. He knew that Minako was a very special girl. Well, she wasn't a girl. She was a young woman, really. She was a leader among leaders in her class. Everyone absolutely loved her, which was an anomaly in the Academy because it was so competitive. Competition usually spawned several life-long hated-rivalries, especially with the top of the class, in this case Minako. She was the best in everything at the Academy, especially the physical activities like forced marches, overland navigation, sprinting, and the ever-popular recreational sports clubs. At least in the sports clubs you weren't being harassed by instructors who'd scream at you even if you were doing everything perfectly.

But in the true leadership tests, Minako showed why she was being selected to lead Princess Serenity's bodyguard contingent. She could unite people like no other. Her groups, when she was assigned to the Team Leader or Assistant Team Leader slot, always finished tasks first and with flying colors. Even the hard-core instructors had admitted to Chris privately over the last month and a half that they'd never had a better student and that they were incredibly proud to be able to teach Minako. Some of those instructors had had Chris. He didn't mind. They probably just didn't like his incredibly odd methods of leading. His bunk in the barracks was immortalized with the words "This student preferred going with the bizarre and risky and his instructors hated him for it!" scratched into the ceiling above.

Chris was growing almost as restless as the graduates, who were aching to get out of there. It was almost over. The final speaker finished and then the Academy Commandant stood. Once he presented the class to the king of Mars and the king accepted it, it was all over. 'Any second now…' thought Chris. The king accepted the class as having met all the requirements to graduate and proclaimed the class to be permanently dismissed. 'Now.' Cheers erupted from the student section and caps soared into the sky. Through the mess of flying caps and fluttering arms, Chris saw Minako hugging and crying with one of her classmates, a female officer from Mars, who'd almost failed the final examination except for when Minako had sacrificed finishing first to go back and help the girl who'd been injured.

Chris waded through the crowd of elated parents, relatives, and graduates to where the King and Queen of Venus were congratulating their daughter. They were incredibly proud of her, as was Chris. He'd grown quite fond of her, actually. She was incredibly beautiful, he noted. Her very long blonde hair was tied up for graduation. It was a slightly darker shade of blonde than Haruka's, but it went along nicely with her skin color. She had big crystal-blue eyes that sparkled in the sun light. By contrast, Haruka had very deep, dark blue eyes. Minako was shorter than Chris's sister. During training, when she was sweating heavily, panting, and looking incredibly gorgeous, Chris had to keep reminding himself that, one, she was a subordinate, and two, she was seven years younger than him. "She's fourteen for crissake!" 'Oh jeez! Get over it! There are plenty of normal couples farther apart than that!' "Shut up, voice in my head." That was how things usually went when he watched Minako. He felt a little bit like a predator, actually.

"Your majesties," said Chris, saluting the rulers of Venus. He'd waited until they'd acknowledged his presence before approaching. He didn't want to disturb the happy family. Minako turned to face him. "Welcome to the ranks of commissioned officers in the White Moon Kingdom Military, Lieutenant. Congratulations. You've earned it."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," replied Minako, blushing and saluting. Chris could hardly tell if that was the heat or her feelings talking. Either way he was happy for her.

"Okay, enough with the formalities. We're of equal rank now. Don't salute me," quipped Chris, smiling. "I just wanted to officially congratulate you. So, how does it feel to be done with this dreadful Academy?"

Minako smiled at her superior. "Oh, it's amazing. Those were the hardest two years of my life." Military training started young, and Minako had started extra young. Twelve was very young for an academy entrant, three years younger than the normal entrance age of 15. "I'm so glad that it's all over and I can really get to work."

"Well that's great, because I have your orders right here." Chris produced an envelope from his pocket. The Moon Kingdom Military seal was emblazoned on the front. "Here you go."

"Wow, thanks!" Minako was elated. She opened the letter carefully, hoping not to mar her milestone set of orders. Inside was a single folded sheet with the orders she already knew were coming but had to see for herself first. Minako read the orders aloud to her proud parents and to Chris. She was ordered to report to the White Moon Kingdom Palace early the next month to begin protecting Princess Serenity, but first she had some leave time back home which she'd thoroughly enjoy, having spent the last two years on Mars in the Academy.

"And you'll be accompanying her to the Moon, Lieutenant?" That was the King of Venus. He was happy that Queen Serenity had decided that his daughter deserved protection, too.

"Yes, your majesty. I'll be in charge of various things to free up the Princess's time for more pressing matters. I'll also be running the security details around them. I promise you that nothing will happen to her. Besides, one of my charges is my own sister. Having met all of the princesses I know that this is an incredibly worthwhile job. They're all very wonderful young women. I will do my best, your majesty."

The Queen smiled. "Thank you very much, Lieutenant. We're counting on you." She hugged her daughter again. "Oh, why do you have to grow up so fast?"

"Mother, please." Minako squirmed under her mother's grasp, but Chris could tell that she was just showing some bravado. No one wanted to be given such a great responsibility at such a young age. She didn't want to be separated from her home again, either. But that was her destiny. She was the leader of Princess Serenity's bodyguards, and that was that.

Just then, the Princess of Mars made her way through the crowd to the small group standing next to the student section. "Minako! Congratulations!" The raven-haired princess hugged her friend as soon as the queen released her daughter. "You've finally graduated! Now we're going to the Moon together!"

"Rei!" Minako accepted her friend's embrace. "Thanks. It's so good to finally be done with this place."

The Martian Princess shot her best friend a sly look. "Excuse me, 'this place'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rei, have I ever told you how hot this place is? Jeez, and I thought my planet was hot in summer!"

"Are you kidding me? Venus's humidity makes this place seem like a paradise!"

"Yeah, but people who live there use the humidity to their advantage. Well, whatever. I'm a Lieutenant, now. Go get me a drink, girl. That's an order. I'm thirsty."

Rei was genuinely horrified at the command. "Wha-what?"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Minako laughed. "I think that the ceremony is just going to my head a little bit right now in more ways than one."

Rei smiled, thankful. She turned to the King and Queen of Venus. "Your majesties, do you mind if I steal Minako away for a moment?"

"Go right ahead, Rei." The King hugged his daughter once again. "We'll be with Rei's parents, Minako, so if you need us, you'll know where to look."

"Yes, father. Thank you." Minako smiled and waved to her parents as Rei dragged her off.

"Come on, Minako! I have something really neat that I want to show you! I've been practicing it for really long time. It's a new technique I learned, called Fire Soul."

Chris smiled as he watched the two princesses disappear into the crowd. 'At least they're all incredibly cute. That's one plus.' "Stop thinking that, they're all over half a decade younger than me." 'Haven't we gone over this before? It doesn't matter!' "Look, voice in my head, shut up already."

"Did you say something, Lieutenant?" The King thought that he'd heard Chris talking to himself.

Chris blanched. "Err, no, I didn't say a thing, your majesty. Heh heh." He could feel sweat streaming down his neck. 'Smooth, Chris. Real smooth.'

The King nodded. "Well, what do you think, Lieutenant? Will she be a good military leader?"

"Your majesty, I have the utmost confidence in her as I do in all the princesses. They are all very capable young women. She will not let anyone down, that's for sure. I can tell that she'll be remembered long after her time as a wonderful leader."

"We hope so, too."

"I know so, your majesty."

* * *

The sound of an explosion sent Chris tumbling out of his leaned-back chair. Down below on the main floor of the ballroom, people were screaming and beginning to panic. Chris had been in a balcony room above, casually conversing with some soldiers from Uranus who'd just arrived from the Earth after a training exercise. They were just staying the night and Chris had taken them drinking. As he tried to stand back up, he saw four faint flashes of light from the ballroom floor below. His vision refocused and he noticed that the four princesses had transformed into their distinctive uniforms and were making their way against the crowd to locate Princess Serenity. Chris spat out a string of curses and ordered the soldiers from Uranus to rally downstairs at the central security office to receive orders from Palace Security. 

Chris sprinted down the stairs and in the general direction of the throne room, where he figured Princess Serenity would be. He skidded to a stop around a corner just as Queen Serenity and her personal bodyguards we exiting the throne room. "Your majesty!"

"Lieutenant, we're under attack," was all the Queen could manage.

"Yes, your majesty, we are. The princesses are looking for Princess Serenity right now. Do you know where she is?"

She paled at the sound. "She wasn't in the ballroom?"

"No, she was not. They must have not noticed her leave. I must admit and apologize for the fact that I did not either. I was distracted."

"That's not your fault, Lieutenant." The Queen looked very worried. "Please find them and help them. They'll need the help."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Protect them at all costs."

"I will with my life, your majesty. I will not fail them or you." He saluted the Queen. "Where are you taking the Queen?" he asked one of the guards before sprinting off.

"To the secure chamber below the temple. When you find Princess Serenity, please get her to the secure chamber below the Grand Lake. We cannot afford to keep the Princess and the Queen in the same place."

"Yes, Major. I will do so." Chris nodded and sprinted off. He could hear the sounds of battle growing to a crescendo as he exited the palace through a service door. Flashes of light from in front of the palace told him where the main battle was. He could see an eerie glow in the sky. "Metallia," he breathed. "The intelligence reports were right after all." Just then, a group of enemies appeared on the path in front of him and surrounded him.

"Oy! Look, it's the Prince of Uranus! And he's unarmed! Let's get him alive! The Queen wants prisoners"

Chris scowled. He'd been caught off guard. That wasn't like him. "I don't have time to waste with you. I have a mission."

"Too bad you can't do anything about it, Prince. No weapons," said one of the enemies, beginning to make a move on him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Chris.

"Oh, what are you going to do, spit at me? Hah!"

Chris dropped to one knee, picking up some dirt in his right hand. Slowly he stood back up. The enemies were confused enough to stand still for a moment. 'Bad idea,' thought Chris. Quickly, he chanted a few words in a language none of them understood and then threw the handful of dirt up in the air. It made a bright flash and Chris jumped up towards the light. When he came down, he struck the closest enemy with a rapier, bashing the one next to him in the face with a shield. He spun around and back flipped away twice to get each enemy into his field of vision. "Unarmed, am I?"

One of the enemies was able to muster his voice. "How in the world did he do that? He's a wind element, not earth!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" spat Chris before he charged into the enemies. He quickly dispatched the standard fighters of the group, leaving just one enemy caster left. The caster was frightened of the White Moon Kingdom's warrior, but still managed to muster up a technique. The caster chanted a quick phrase and launched a ball of dark fire at the Prince of Uranus.

Chris flipped back and chanted something of his own. His sword glowed a dark blue-green. Holding the sword steady in front of him, Chris waited for the force of the dark fire. It struck the sword head on, but the blue-green glow surrounded the fire, quickly extinguishing it.

The caster tried to back away, horrified, but tripped over the body of one of his fallen comrades. He tried to scamper backwards on his hands but found himself unable to move. Chris had teleported behind him before he could react and was holding his sword at the caster's neck.

"Who are you? Wh-what are you? Teleportation can only be done by those of the element of Time in the Moon Kingdom, and you defeated my attack with the Water Element of Neptune." The caster's eyes were shut, waiting for the swing of Chris's sword. There was no way to beat this one.

"Because I'm special and you're not." Chris ended the enemy's worries in a second. 'I wasted too much time. I need to find the princesses right now!' The sword and shield dematerialized at his command and he picked up a set from a dead enemy. He ran off down the path, enemy sword and shield in hand. He didn't have any armor, but there was no time to conjure any up. Besides, he'd waste too much energy trying to. He'd need all the energy he could to survive on his own until he linked up with some friendly forces. That didn't take too long. As he passed a collection of dead enemies, he heard someone call to him.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Over here!" It was senior sergeant with a rag-tag group of soldiers from all across the Alliance. He motioned for Chris to come over. The soldiers were all clustered around a soldier in the middle, who had a deep gash in his stomach. There was a medical caster from Saturn hovering over him, allowing her healing energy to flow into the bad-looking wound. Chris was always amazed by the medical casters from Saturn, especially the Princess of Saturn. If there was a glimmer of life left, she could save the person. He'd witnessed it first hand when he had spent time with her months before.

"Boy am I glad to see you Sergeant. How are you holding up?"

"We're holding our own, sir. We've lost a few, but this area is pretty well cleared out. They've moved on to other areas. We're not sure what their objective is, because they attack an area and then immediately pull out. It's very odd."

"I think they're looking for the Queen and the Princess. If they figure out she's not in an area, they try somewhere else." Chris made some quick calculations in his mind. "Sergeant, do you mind if I take some of your men? I need to find the Allied princesses quickly. Hopefully they've already found Princess Serenity. I have orders to get her to a secure location immediately."

The Sergeant looked down at the female medical caster. "Raila, do you think you can manage to get him back to the perimeter around the barracks by yourself?"

"If you could leave just one to help me, it would go a lot faster."

"Done." The Sergeant motioned for a young private next to him to stay. "Help her get back to the barracks."

"Yes, Sergeant."

"Okay, Lieutenant. You have all of the rest of us, then."

"Very well," Chris said, nodding. He led the group of ten or so off towards the sounds of fighting. Along the way, they picked up some stragglers and defeated isolated enemies. During a short engagement, Chris felt like his heart was being crushed. It caused him to drop to a knee, just in time for an enemy sword to slice over his head, missing it by about an inch. The Sergeant knocked the enemy in the face and then killed him quickly. He dropped to a knee next to Chris. "Lieutenant, what's wrong? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Chris couldn't even respond. His heart was in terrible pain, but he knew he hadn't been hit or anything. Something bad had just happened. He knew. He knew this feeling. He had had it only once before, when he had heard his sister had gone missing. She'd fallen down a ravine back home and been knocked unconscious for two days. No, but this was much, much worse. Something had gone terribly wrong.

'No, it's nothing. It's your imagination. On your feet, soldier!' his mind screamed at him. Chris collected himself and stood. "No, I'm all right. I just got the wind knocked out of me." He shook himself off. "I really should get a set of armor, but it's too much effort."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes. We have to keep moving." Soon the contingent came to another area where a main battle had occurred and left. Chris was the first to enter the large courtyard, actually little more than just ancient ruins from back before a history was even written of the kingdom. His heart was also the first to sink the bottom of his stomach. The sight made him want to vomit. Among the multitudes of dead enemies were five females in very distinct clothes. They were all clustered around each other. As the rest of the contingent managed a glimpse of the scene, some actually did turn off the path quickly and vomit into the grass.

Chris ran towards the princesses. He knew he was too late, but he had to look anyway. Makoto was the closest to him. A feel of her pulse told him all he needed to know. Rei's and Ami's were also long gone. Minako was closest to Princess Serenity. Minako was face down in a pile of rocks, blood covering her uniform and the rocks. He didn't feel the need to check her pulse and make himself feel even worse. But he needed to confirm one other death. He reached over and felt Serenity's pulse. 'D-O-A.' Slumping down on the rocks, Chris carefully rolled Minako over. She didn't deserve to die face down in her own blood. When he finished, he almost jumped back in sheer fright. Minako had squeezed his hand. "Oh jeez! Minako! Minako! You're still alive! Say something!" Chris brushed some hair out of her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the blood near the corner of her mouth.

"Chris…." She sounded incredibly sad. How else could she feel? All of her friends were dead around her.

"Minako, you stay with me, you hear? We're going to get you help. All right? Just listen to me, don't let go. I'm right here. Stay alive." Chris pleaded with her some more while the Sergeant behind Chris screamed for someone to go find a Saturn medical caster.

"Chris…. They ambushed us…. I failed… I couldn't… I couldn't protect the Princess. She's gone, isn't she?" Minako coughed up some blood. She was too far gone. No medic, save the Princess of Saturn, who was also probably dead at this point, could save her.

"No, you didn't fail, Minako. You did your job to the best of your ability, and that's all that was asked of you." Chris was desperately trying to figure out something to say. It was no use. Within a few seconds, Minako's eyes had closed for the last time.

"Minako! Minako! No! Damnit, where's that medical caster!" Chris held Minako close to him, her blood smearing all over his own clothes.

The Sergeant laid a hand on Chris's shoulder. "Sir, she's gone. There's nothing anyone can do for her now. It's best to let her go. We have to move on." He knew it was incredibly harsh, but someone had to say it.

Chris couldn't remember the last time he'd cried, but it was definitely happening now. His tears rolled down his cheek onto her blonde hair. "Minako." All he could think about was the last thing he'd ever been ordered to do by Queen Serenity. Her voice echoed around in his head, making him want to scream.

"Protect them at all costs."

He squeezed her limp form one last time before standing, wiping tears away from his eyes. Looking around, he noticed something about the way the bodies were positioned. Makoto and Ami had been the first to die. There were enemies in between their bodies and the bodies of Rei and Minako. Rei must have died next. Then there was a body next to Minako's; dead, shot through the heart by her Crescent Beam. That enemy must have killed Princess Serenity as he was killed. General Karine had been right. The reason he was to protect the protectors was because a smart enemy would deal with the guards first. He looked one last time at Minako. "No, Minako. I failed you. I had a mission and I failed you. I was supposed to protect you and I failed." But he'd have another chance. In time, he'd get another chance.

* * *

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS: Bravo26Flashpoint(at)yahoo(dot)com Yeah, you can tell just how much I LOVE how fanfic deals with emails 


	4. Chapter 3

**NOTE: **I'm back in the saddle, folks. It's been a year, but I'm finally back to working on this story. I'm posting this chapter now, but it may be a bit before the next chapters because I've actually been working on chapters that are, chronologically, a bit far ahead. So I have to write about 3-4 more chapters before I get to what I've been working on now. I'm starting those interim chapters now.

**The Last Officers**

**Chapter 3: Troubles**

**By JagdPanther**

Kino Makoto could tell that something bad was about to happen. She slowly turned around and saw the ugly multicolored face of the _daimon_ hovering behind her. Before she could react, it grabbed her wrists and prevented her from moving. Haruka and Michiru made an attempt to help, but Mako knew that they couldn't do anything against something like this. She yelled, "Get out of here! Just go! You'll get hurt, too!"

Obediently, Haruka nodded her head and took Michiru by the arm, leading her back and away from the _daimon_ with Mako in its clutches. Unfortunately, the _daimon_ managed to throw a ball of energy at the two, knocking them down and into the bushes a short distance away.

"No!" screamed Mako, trying to wrestle away from _daimon_. "What did they do to you? I'm the one you want!" Try as she might, Makoto just couldn't break the grip and Kaolinite ordered the _daimon_ to take Mako's heart crystal. Stripped of her vital life essence, Mako collapsed to the ground. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune popped out of some bushes nearby and tried to snatch the heart crystal from the enemy.

"Hey, that's mine! I extracted it!" Kaolinite ordered the _daimon _to attack the two Sailor _senshi_ and prevent them from getting the item vital to her master's work. As the fighting raged on around her, Mako lay on the ground thinking that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were disgraces to the name, as they had just sat idly by watching Haruka and Michiru getting beat up. It was then that she realized that she couldn't forgive them, no matter what they did.

* * *

Chris had already been off work for an hour. The bayside park was just a short walk from where he usually had an early evening dinner if he got off early. The sounds of combat drew his attention, but more importantly, he had the feeling that someone under his protection was in trouble. He sprinted towards the source of the sounds, breaking out into the open just in time to see Mako go down, her heart crystal absent from her body. He spat out a string of curses and ran up to Mako. He noted that his sister and Neptune had things seemingly under control. 'Well, she's perfectly fine, just comatose,' he thought. 'Since I define that to be fine, and all.'

He picked her up by her arms and dragged her out of the general area to prevent her from becoming collateral damage. Now came the interesting part. Get the heart crystal back and at the same time see how the _senshi_ would react to a police officer, namely Chris, barging in on their little engagement. Hopefully he wouldn't get hurt doing this, but it was best, he thought, to not reveal himself just yet. If not for observation and experimentation, then for the sheer entertainment, whatever entertainment value it had. He ran back out to the small flat area where the _daimon _was, drawing his pistol in the process, and shouted, "Freeze! Police! Don't move!"

Sailor Neptune dodged an attack, back flipping, landing near him. The sudden presence of Chris startled her, causing her to almost lose her balance. She noted the absence of Makoto and figured that Chris must have moved her. "Sir, I think you might not want to be here right now."

"Look lady, I don't know who you are, and I really don't care, but I've got a comatose girl on my hands and someone here is the culprit. Now sit your butt down and get your hands up before I get angry." He motioned for her to get her hands up with his pistol. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the _daimon _getting ready to attack him.

Uranus, thinking it was after Neptune, turned to warn her, but was astonished to see her brother holding Neptune at gunpoint. "Neptune, forget about him and get away!" A shout of "police!" from Chris didn't stop her, despite her heart's sinking feeling that she was sacrificing her brother for the mission at hand.

An energy ball lanced out from the _daimon_ but never made it to Chris. A Burning Mandala shot from Sailor Mars knocked it out of the air while Sailor Venus tackled Chris. Chris pretended to take a hard fall, knocking his head into a rock. He immediately regretted it, but bit down on his tongue to keep from passing out. Venus snapped off a quick, "Sorry!" before jumping away to take up formation with the other _senshi_. Chris kept one eye slightly open to observe what went on.

The two older _senshi _discovered that Mako's heart crystal wasn't the one that they were looking for. When Sailor Moon asked, they gave it back and stood idly by again as Sailor Moon returned Mako's heart crystal to her.

As things progressed, Chris couldn't shake something nagging at him. 'What on Earth was she doing? Was she honestly going to sacrifice me in order to get the heart crystal that she needed? Wow, that's low. She really has the 'only the mission' thing in her head way too deeply. And let's not fail to remember that I'm her brother! You've got to be kidding me. That was ridiculous.' But that wasn't the only surprise for the day, he saw. With the _daimon_ defeated, Sailor Jupiter decided that Uranus and Neptune couldn't go on unpunished for standing idly by while the _daimon_ attacked Haruka, Michiru, and the police officer who'd helped.

Jupiter challenged Uranus with a fighting stance. "Wait! I don't know the reason, but you always come to steal the pure heart like a thief. You're the same as the _daimon_."

Uranus was going to let it go, but her ego got the better of her, as it usually did. The two charged at each other. There wasn't much contest; Uranus was just too strong. Jupiter crumbled to the ground. Chris noted, though, as Uranus and Neptune retreated, that Uranus was favoring something. 'She's hurt. Jupiter got something on her. Good girl, Mako-chan. Don't worry; I'm going to have a 'talk' with her about her conduct, somehow.' The rest of the _senshi_ retreated for a second, too, to power down before locating Haruka and Michiru in the bushes and helping the downed police officer.

Chris stirred slightly as Minako ran up to him.

"Chris-san! Are you all right?" Minako knelt down beside him. "Are you hurt? Can you move?"

Chris rubbed his head. Actually, yeah, he was hurt. Stupid move, he realized, actually taking the fall instead of faking it. He slowly tried to stand up, wavering a bit in the process and aided by Minako. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine, rather. I have one heck of a headache. I need some aspirin. How's Makoto? I was able to get her out of the way, but I got knocked down by someone before that thing hit me. Whoever she was, she saved my life."

Minako giggled. "Wow, you don't know anything about this city, do you? Those were the Sailor _senshi_. They help people who're in trouble, unlike the police."

Smirking, Chris shot back, "Hey, I resent that. I said I didn't like the police, either, but that doesn't mean that I don't work hard to make a difference."

She accepted that one, smiling. "Okay, maybe some of the police are fine. Can you walk?"

"Yes, I think I can. Where's Makoto? Is she all right?" He added a little bit of a woozy stumble for effect.

"She all right, she's over there helping someone else who got hit by that thing." Minako supported Chris a little so that he didn't collapse or something. She silently cursed herself for having tackled him so hard, but she had to just in case Mars missed her mark, which wasn't often. "Well, since you don't know anything, the two that were here when you arrived were Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus. The blonde one was Uranus. She's a jerk. Well, they both are. And the one that tackled you was Sailor Venus. She's the coolest, I think."

'Oh, she slipped up! Time to have a little fun with her!' Chris smiled to himself. "How did you know that?"

"Everyone does."

"No, I meant that those two were here when I arrived. Where were you?" 'Come on, Minako; show me how well you can B.S.'

'Oh, Damnit!' Minako realized instantly that she'd said too much. She'd been a little too self-promoting on that one. "Um, I actually just figured that they were here first because we saw you take Mako-chan in the bushes away from danger. We didn't see any of the fight until Venus tackled you away from the energy ball and Mars hit that away."

Chris had to fight to keep from laughing. "Uh huh, is that so?" 'Okay, Minako, that was relatively believable. But a good officer needs to not make those mistakes to begin with. I did not avoid court-martial by spilling my guts to people about my pranks in the military. Ah, someday I'll tell you all this.'

'Whew,' thought Minako. "Yeah, we heard the fighting and came running. It's so weird that that thing would go after Mako. I don't know what they want with people." Minako led him over to where Makoto was tending to the wound on Haruka's shoulder.

"Haruka!" shouted Chris, upon seeing his sister bleeding. "What are you doing here? Did that thing get you?" He looked back to Minako. "You didn't say that that 'other person' was Haruka!"

Haruka winced. "I'm fine, Chris. I just got clipped. It's just a scratch."

Chris stared hard at her. "You're bleeding. Scratches are just red. That's not a scratch. What happened, those two they that were fighting that thing didn't help when it attacked you, either?"

Makoto responded for Haruka, saying, "Of course. They always sacrifice people so that they can get what they want. It's despicable. They did nothing to help me, either."

Chris shook his head, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask. Are you all right, too, Makoto? I had no idea what was wrong with you, but I just had to get you out of the way."

She smiled, and nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for saving me there. The Sailor _senshi_ did the rest, but you got me out of the way. I hope your head is all right. Ami told me that Venus hit you pretty hard." Makoto winked at Minako when Chris rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I got clocked pretty good, but I'll survive. I'm just pissed at those two that were already here. They let both of you get hurt?"

Makoto nodded in agreement. "It's terrible. Jupiter tried to hit Uranus because of what they did, but she couldn't do it. Uranus is too strong. But Jupiter isn't the kind to back down; she'll eventually make them both pay." She hoped that she'd chosen her words carefully enough to not really get any fingers pointed at her.

Grimacing, Chris shook his head. "I don't know. No soldier should ever do something like that. Yeah, they usually say the mission comes first. Oh, and you sacrifice innocents to accomplish it? They aren't worthy of any 'soldierly' title." Chris tried not to look directly at Haruka and Michiru as he was saying this. 'You two; as soon as I feel the time is right, we're having a little talk. I cannot believe that you two did that. That's ridiculous. You sacrificed Makoto? Wow. Just wow."

Haruka tried not to look away from Chris in shame and anger as he was saying this. 'He just doesn't understand. There's no way that he could. Look, I'm sorry for Makoto here, but I cannot risk failing the mission because of one girl. She's nice, but the mission does come first, Chris. This isn't Malden. This is something completely different. You have no idea what you're talking about.'

After everyone had been mightily codependent and asked if everyone else was all right once more and asked if they needed help getting along their way, the group split up into Haruka and Michiru, Chris, and the inner _senshi_. Chris walked back to the restaurant where his car was parked, got in, and wished he had some aspirin in the glove compartment. 'Wow, got to remember to come up with a better plan next time. Can't go losing brain cells in this little charade.'

It was bothering him greatly that his sister had just gone and done what she did. 'That's not right. She'll fail if she keeps doing it. No, Haruka and Michiru, neither of you understand what fighting is all about. You're nothing more than two stubborn, loner teenaged girls right now. You both need to learn what fighting, teamwork, and the mission REALLY mean.' Driving home, he realized that Haruka and Michiru had changed. The White Moon Kingdom sister and friend he'd known were real soldiers, not these terrible excuses.

* * *

What had she given up to be a _senshi_? There was the lack of a boyfriend, for one thing. She'd given up her most favorite thing in the world, volleyball. She thought she was just deluding herself into believing that she could continue trying to become an idol. She'd given up chance after chance to do things she'd always wanted to do, places she'd always wanted to go, people she'd always wanted to meet because of her duties. That morning, when Asai had asked her why she'd given up volleyball, it all came to her. Maybe she should just get it over with already. So it was settled. That afternoon she'd tell everyone. "Maybe I'll quit being a Sailor _senshi_ for a while."

Dead silence.

"There's just so much that I'm missing from my life. I can't stand it any more. I think I need some time off to salvage what's left of my former life. I'm sorry; I just don't feel like it anymore." Minako quietly gathered her things and walked out of Rei's room. No one dared speak nor follow her. Even after she had left, there was a complete absence of movement and sound.

Artemis went to follow her after a minute, but Rei put her hand in front of him. "No. People need to be alone, sometimes. This is one of those times."

Minako was already well away from the Shrine. Stressed out, depressed, and feeling generally miserable, she went to the only place she had left in her life that she could lose herself in. It took her just a little while to get to the Crown Arcade. Inside, she found her driving game and began playing.

After a few crashes, she realized that even this wouldn't work today. There was a deep hole inside of her and it wouldn't go away. Nothing was going to work, she figured. 'Maybe it really is a good idea to quit for a while. Maybe it's just not worth my sanity anymore. If I can just get back to doing the things I'd always enjoyed doing before all this was dropped on me, I may be okay.' Suddenly, a drink appeared in front of her eyes.

"Hey. You look depressed. Are you depressed, Minako?"

Minako's head jerked up and around at the source of the voice. "Chris?"

Chris was smiling, holding out a drink in one hand, sipping from another drink in his other hand. "Guilty."

"Thank you," she said, accepting the cup of soda. "What are you doing here?"

"I noticed you walk by on the street. I was just walking down to a music store when I saw you go by. You looked kind of sad. Is there something wrong?"

Minako cast her gaze down at the seat of the racing game. "Not particularly…. No, yes, there is a lot wrong."

"Want to talk about it?"

She pondered the offer for a second. "Nah, it's girl stuff. You wouldn't want to talk about this stuff."

"Well, try me. You'd be surprised. I have a rather wide range of knowledge. Let's take a little walk." He offered his free hand to her to pull her up.

'Well, I guess I could generalize it to fit him. I really do need someone to talk to right now, and especially not any of the girls. Plus, if nothing else, it's good English practice,' she thought to herself. Minako managed a faint smile and took Chris's outstretched hand. "Thanks."

They walked out onto the street and headed in a random direction. It really didn't matter where they were going. "So, what's the problem?"

Minako figured that phrasing it for a guy wouldn't really make a difference in the answer, so she asked in English, "Chris, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

Chris was taken aback by the question at first. His head recoiled a little bit before he smirked. "Well, no, I don't suppose I ever have. Sure, I've been close friends with a lot of girls but never close enough to be a couple, no. Why ask? Having boy trouble? I'm sorry, I can only speculate if that's the case."

She was shocked. "You've never had a girlfriend? How? Weren't you really popular at Penn State? I mean, there had to be girls that wanted to be something more with you. You were a star on the football team."

Chris realized that he shouldn't underestimate her ability to shock him. "How'd you know I was on the football team? Heck, how did you know I went to Penn State?"

"I absolutely love sports, remember? I even know a little bit about American football. I know that you were on your college team and went to the National Championship and won on a last second interception." Minako felt rather proud of herself for having remembered all that.

Feeling quite famous, Chris smiled. "Why, yes, I was. But to answer your question, yes, I guess I was. I was popular, but that didn't equal relationships with girls."

Now Minako was intrigued. "Why do you think you never had a girlfriend?"

"Well, for a lot of reasons I suppose. One, I guess I felt that I wasn't ready for that sort of commitment. A successful relationship is a lot of work, Minako. Between the Honors College work, football, ROTC, and general studies, I really didn't have the energy or time left to make a relationship really work. I saw guys and girls alike that had their lives consumed keeping their relationships stable and afloat. Trying to work a relationship would've made me lose sight of the rest of my goals and dreams in college, I think. Secondly, I guess that I just never met 'her.'"

"'Her?'" asked Minako.

"You know, the one girl for me." Chris didn't subscribe to perfection in intelligence, so he took a shot in the dark. "Let me guess, you're wondering why you don't have a boyfriend and why it's possible to be so unsuccessful in love."

Minako glanced down at the sidewalk as they continued to walk aimlessly. "Yes, that's a major part of it." Chris laughed at her response. Hurt, she snapped, "Hey, I didn't tell you that to be laughed at."

Chris killed the laugh, but continued smiling. "I'm sorry, but it's just that you're funny."

Becoming angry, Minako furrowed her brow and growled, "And what did I do that was funny?"

"You tried to tell me that you're unsuccessful, depressed, and lost without having ever had a boyfriend."

She was getting angrier. "What's wrong with that?"

"Minako, you're 15," deadpanned Chris.

"So?" She didn't quite get it yet.

"So? It is what it is. You're 15." Seeing that he wasn't getting through, Chris elaborated. "Minako, you're 15, moving on 16. I just told you that I, at 22 and moving on 23, have never had a girlfriend. I haven't had one for several reasons. My parents didn't meet each other until my mom was 27 and my father was 34. I know people that didn't have significant others until their mid-30s and are the happiest people in the world now that they have found their 'one person' just for them. Have you ever considered that just maybe you're expecting too much? Give yourself some time. Maybe your special someone won't come around for another decade. Who knows? At such a young age you can't expect to meet the one person that you know more than anything else you want to spend the rest of your life with. Plus, you're in, what, junior high? I always get confused by the Japanese school system. Anyway, you're in junior high. Junior high is the same the world over. It breeds catty girls, moronic guys, and many other things very detrimental to successful relationships. I can almost guarantee that if you found 'someone' today, you'd not be with them this time next year no matter how hard you tried to convince me otherwise, Minako. Trust me; I'm more experienced than you. I've been through junior high, high school, and even college. I may not have been in relationships, but I've seen them. Relationships hate those years of your life. In time, you'll learn about all this. I just want to prepare you for problems that I know you will face."

Minako slowly dropped from angry back to plain depressed. "I get what you're saying. But still, I just wish that I could find someone who at least makes me happy."

"You mean a guy? Because you seem plenty happy around your friends."

"Yes, I do have great friends. But you're right; I do want a guy to make me happy, too."

"What did you mean by 'major part of it' earlier, Minako? What else is bothering you?"

She tried to explain her way out of it. "Um, it's just that I feel that I've given so much up in my life like volleyball and some of my most important dreams for the benefit of others." She rethought her choice of words before saying, "That's kind of arrogant. I mean, I just always try to put others before myself and over the past few days I've come to realize just what I have given up. I love making other people happy, and when I see that I've done that, it makes me happy. Just the same, I just sometimes feel… empty."

Chris's heart felt heavy at her words. 'Time for a little lesson in leadership, Minako.' He sighed. "Well, this may sound somewhat arrogant, too, but… I've always considered myself a good leader in whatever I do; football, school, the military, etc. Being a good leader requires you to make a lot of sacrifices. To be a good leader means that you have to serve others, first. But you know what? I always made time for myself. You can't lead your entire life thinking of others. You need to put yourself first once in a while. Do something you want to do. Why would you give up volleyball entirely? I think you should take it back up again. What's to lose?"

Minako wished Chris could understand. "I… I… I just don't have time for it. I love playing so much, but I just can't."

'Minako, you'll go crazy if you do this to yourself.' Shaking his head, Chris responded, "Just think about what I said, Minako. Maybe not now, but before you go to sleep tonight, think about it. Make some time for yourself. I know that you can. It'll make you feel a lot better, trust me. And don't worry about the boy thing. It'll all work out in the end. I haven't given up hope on finding that one special girl for me, yet, and I'm much older than you." He cracked a big smile. "Trust me."

Minako looked at her watch and seriously thought about what Chris had said. 'Maybe Asai is still at practice now. If I hurry, I can still catch him. It won't be a 'young lady won't you go out with me tonight?', but it will do.' Figuring out where she was in the city, Minako realized that school was close by. She thanked Chris for the drink and for talking to her before racing off. Maybe some things could change.

* * *

"You know, he had a girlfriend. It really hurt her." Artemis was curled up next to Chris on a park bench.

"Ah, well, I warned her about problems. Not that one specifically, but problems nonetheless. That's really sad. She is going to go crazy if she doesn't find an outlet for herself. Lord knows that I went through the same thing she did. I almost lost my mind in high school. I was the same way, wanting to make others happy before myself. Had to realize that I'm important, too. I have dreams, aspirations, and feelings, too. She needs to see that. So what did you do?"

Artemis explained about giving Minako the roses and telling her what she had wanted to hear. At least it cheered her up a bit, but she was still fairly depressed.

Chris laughed at Artemis's little stunt. He leaned back and watched the leaves rustle in the wind.

"Chris."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Chris looked at himself, trying to see if he was doing something he shouldn't have been. "Doing what?"

"This."

Still confused. "What?"

"I mean lying to them. About who you are. Why don't you just tell them that you're their guardian? What harm would it do?"

He smiled. "The last thing they need in their lives right now is another person from their past lives. I feel content just to watch over them for now, out of sight, out of mind. They don't need to know about me."

"Are you sure?"

Chris fished around in his pocket for a piece of gum before saying, "Why ask? Something wrong?"

Artemis stood and stretched his back. "I think that they could all use someone to confide in."

Confused, Chris said, "But I would think that they are best for that, no? They're five girls each with the duty of saving the world. I think that they'd rather speak to each other than to the older guy who doesn't know them, at least not their current forms, nearly as well."

Shaking his head, Artemis responded, "That's just the thing. They are each afraid of offending each other by singling out one over the others to talk to. They need a third party that they can talk to about who they are, someone that knows them and cares deeply about them. That's you."

Munching on a piece of peppermint gum, Chris thought for a bit. "I suppose I could end it shortly."

"I think you should. Luna is growing rather tired of it, too. She and I think that you should just get it over with. You've had enough fun. It's time to stop being a child and get to work," said the smirking white cat. On a more serious note, he added, "I think Minako really needs you. You really understand what she's going through. She's the leader and she's questioning herself. That could be deadly for her and for the others."

"Aren't you better than me to be talking to her about her personal problems? I mean, you're her talking cat and all." Artemis blankly stared at him. Chris smiled and nodded. "Fine, fine. I'll end it shortly. There are just a few last things I want to investigate before I break my cover to them."

"All right. Thank you." Artemis jumped off the bench and began walking away, but he stopped short and looked back. "Chris, don't do anything stupid, all right? They need a guardian, not another casualty."

Laughing, Chris replied, "Get going already. Minako will be worried over where you are." As he watched the white cat disappear, Chris sighed. He'd have to reveal his identity to them. 'I can have some fun with this, even so.' Smiling, Chris made his way back home. 'Yeah, but first I have to figure out some more about these people that want the heart crystals. Setsuna is getting worried enough to begin thinking about revealing herself, too.'

* * *

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS: Bravo26Flashpoint(at)yahoo(dot)com You can tell I LOVE how deals with e-mail addys in stories 


	5. Chapter 4

12

**The Last Officers**

**Chapter 4: Zero Visibility**

**By JagdPanther**

"Well, I can see you take your duties ever so seriously," chided Chris as he walked up to the woman gawking at a dress in the window. "Window shopping when you should be guarding the Gates of Time? Sheesh. Do you get paid for this?"

Setsuna put on a wry grin as she turned around and hugged Chris. "Oh, if only I did." She released her friend and sized him up. "And apparently they're starting to make you wear a suit. I wonder if they know they're making you angry."

"Probably not. They won't get it until I start having live-fire drills with SAT recruits as the targets," replied Chris, shrugging. "I can't wait to get home and get out of this torture suit."

"If it's any consolation, I think you look good in it." Setsuna rolled her eyes and turned to walk down the sidewalk past more shops. "But, you, of course, still hate wearing anything vaguely 'dressy' because you have this odd notion that the rules of royalty don't apply to you."

Falling in step aside her, Chris grumbled back, "Because I hate these kinds of clothes! Gawd, do you know how much I hated having to wear full dress uniform for every function my parents held at the Castle Miranda? Good Lord, I thought I was going to have to slit my wrists some nights when the things went on for hours and hours and hours." He ended his little tirade with a shudder.

"Ah, but Haruka enjoyed it. She always looked very pretty all dressed up. Much more proper than you."

"Which oddly enough she's nothing like now. I mean, when she does dress in feminine clothes she's still breathtakingly beautiful, but the amount of people who mistake her for a guy because of the clothes she wears, sometimes, is laughable. And she's anything but the girl she was back then. Growing up with her again was so much different than last time."

"Just as beautiful as a man as she is as a woman, really? I think that's rather cute," Setsuna mused, gazing at another dress in a shop window. "Do you think she'd look good in something like that?"

"What, that?" he asked, nodding towards the dress. "Um, I guess so. Why ask? Still harboring dreams of being a fashion designer? You, physics girl, being a fashion designer? Lord, have mercy on us. She'll be making dresses featuring Kepler's Law tattooed down the side," Chris said, waving his hands at the sky in mock fear.

Setsuna laughed and slapped her friend on the arm. "I hate you."

"No, you love me," he said from behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking them back and forth. "You loooovveee me. Come on, you know you do; you loooovveee me."

"Stop it!" giggled Setsuna as she sped up and pulled out of his grip. She continued smiling as Chris pulled up alongside of her again, hands in pockets, whistling lightly. "Besides, you know it'd never work between us."

Caught off-guard by the suddenness of her comment, Chris took a moment to respond. "You don't know that."

"Chris, you know I have my duties."

"Duties that you've, essentially, forsaken, to come down here and be a fashion designer and a closet-case physics nut? I'm sure."

Setsuna's smile was gone as she bore a "thousand-yard stare" down the street. "You know why I'm here. I might as well enjoy myself while I'm here. I wouldn't have left the Gates if I didn't feel there was some terrible matter at hand, one so dangerous that I couldn't just sit back and assume everyone else would be able to fix it. Whatever is happening is something far bigger than the incidents before it. I've watched idly before, but not this time." She sighed deeply and cracked a small smile at her only real friend in her lifetime. "And besides, I know you too well. You don't love me."

"Of course I do. What are you talking about?"

"You love me as a friend and a compatriot, not as a woman. I'll never be able to compete with whom you really love."

"And who, pray tell, do I really love?"

"You don't know who you love? You poor, poor child," quipped Setsuna.

For a while they continued talking and walking down the rows of shops, occasionally entering one. Setsuna scanned the clothes while Chris uncomfortably followed her around like a little child. Back out on the street, Chris posed the question. "So when are you going to let everyone know you're here?"

"Depends on when you do," she idly replied.

"Oh, so I'm controlling the tempo?"

"Possibly." Fiddling with something in her purse, she asked, "So? When are you going to do it?"

"I figured within the next few days. I might do it while they're in battle. Not sure. Got to make a flashy entrance, you know."

"Hah, I can just picture that. I almost want to be around to see how much of a fool you come off as."

"Such the supportive one, you are." Sighing, Chris continued, "I am going to do it soon, though. I have a bone to pick with my sister about how she and Neptune are handling this. I really don't like it."

"Oh?"

"They're exercising a little bit too much bravado. That they can figure this out and defeat whomever is behind this on their own. They're flat refusing to work alongside the others and even worse they are just disregarding everyone's lives but their own. I mean, when I tested them the other day, my sister, pretty much, sacrificed me to find out if Makoto had the right crystal."

Setsuna pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead and looked at Chris's form in the evening sunlight. "However ironic that may be, you know as well as I do that this situation is far too dire to adopt the other girls' methods of innocents first. We're talking about the destruction of the entire planet. Not just one or two people, everyone. Big difference between six and a half billion people and a few people unlucky enough to be targeted."

"Sets, I just can't think like that. Maybe I'm too idealistic, like the others, but all the years of combat, death, and destruction I've seen in this life and my previous life are too much for me to think I can just easily trade in a few lives for the lives of many. I can't do it."

"You're not always presented with a choice, you know. Sometimes you can't save everyone."

Chris scratched the back of his neck. "Hell, I know. And for as much as I don't like the guy, Jimmy Carter made statement back in '80 after we (he means "we" as in the United States Army) failed to rescue the hostages in Iran. He said the greatest failure is the failure to try. I couldn't agree more. Yeah, maybe we can't always save everyone, but God, you have to try. And neither of them are even doing that. It's just 'oh well, we've got a mission, sucks for you.'"

"When push comes to shove, I'm confident that Uranus and Neptune, you, and the other _senshi_ will make the right choice."

"And what about you?" Setsuna gave Chris a look that said 'Have I ever been wrong?' "Yeah, I forgot. It's you."

* * *

It wasn't a Nathan's All-Beef hot dog, but it'd suffice as a small lunch before heading back to the outskirts of Tokyo where the Metropolitan Police had a live-fire mock-up house for training urban assault units. Chris fired down the cheap hot dog and a few chips as he walked back to the parking deck where his car was located.

He'd been in the area to drop off some papers for the training facility at a city office, so stopping for a quick lunch seemed like a logical move. Walking down the sidewalk, he noted a girl running down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road holding a glowing object. He studied the girl as she approached the parking deck his car was parked in, and was suddenly hit with the realization that the girl was Minako. 'What the hell is she doing?' Right behind her steamed a white station-wagon-like vehicle, almost as if it was chasing Minako. She took a turn into the garage, followed closely by the vehicle.

Sensing something was amiss, Chris checked the street for other traffic before sprinting across the street. Pressing his body against the concrete, he peered around the corner to see if anyone was there. The pseudo-police officer ducked inside the doorway and began moving forward quickly in a crouch, keeping himself hidden behind vehicles parked along the leading wall. As he approached one car, he saw Minako lying in the middle of the floor, her heart crystal floating above her unconscious form. 'Oh, not good.' Just about to scuttle across the floor to Minako, Chris froze and looked around. 'Where's that car that was following her?'

On cue, Eudial came into view and approached Minako. Chris immediately placed his right hand in front of his body, cupping it towards the ceiling, and began whispering the words to conjure up a wind-elemental attack when he heard a family voice yell at Eudial to stop. Stopping and looking to the left, he saw Usagi, not transformed, standing across from Eudial. 'What's she thinking going in here unprepared?' Eudial immediately ordered her _daimon _to seal off the garage, nothing in and nothing out.

It didn't even occur to him that there may be other people inside the garage, like himself, that could see Usagi. For example, Haruka and Michiru were also there, and they could plainly see the Princess. Usagi hesitated, seeing Haruka and Michiru. It was a simple choice for her, though. Either transform and save Minako or do nothing and everyone loses, some more than others.

'I wonder if Haruka and Michiru already know that she's…' thought Chris, observing Usagi's hesitation. Suddenly, the short blonde girl was surrounded by a bright pink light and was quickly transformed into the heroine of the hour. '…er, never mind, I guess.' Sailor Moon made her token ultimatum to Eudial, but the witch scoffed at her and ordered the _daimon_ to dispatch the girl while she took Minako's heart crystal. Quickly, the _daimon_ trapped the Princess. 'Perfect. And I guess those two are just going to sacrifice them to find out of Minako has the correct heart crystal.' Chris once again started to attack Eudial to ward her off of Minako, but once again he was interrupted by the bright lights that came from his left. Whipping his head around he saw Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune there.

Immediately, Uranus went on the offensive to draw off Eudial while Neptune skirted the open area and captured Minako's heart crystal. To her disappointment, the heart crystal was not exactly what they were looking for. From outside, there was a terrible bang and the main garage door began to glow. Another two crashes and the door blew in, revealing the remaining _senshi_. Chris shook his head and though, 'Aren't we just one big happy family now. Oh, well. Might as well add myself into the mix, now.'

Neptune blasted the _daimon_ with her Deep Submerge attack as the other _senshi_ ran in to the battle. The _daimon_, better suited for tanking damage than doling it out, retreated to Eudial and complained that it couldn't ward off the _senshi_. Eudial, disgusted at the worthlessness of her toy, smacked the _daimon_ away and prepared to attack Sailor Moon herself.

Chris rose from his hiding spot and broke towards the _daimon_ that was trying to sneak away from the battle. He ran right past Sailor Mars, who jumped back in surprise at his presence. Before she could say anything to Chris he had produced a rapier. A quick chant and it began to glow a bright red which turned to a gushing orange flame as the sword sliced through the air. The _daimon _barely had time to notice Chris charging it, and just as it was beginning to turn to block Chris's attack with its door-like shield, the rapier pierced the _daimon's _back, exiting through the chest. The _daimon_ let out a high-pitched scream, crumpling to the ground in a _thunk_, before it rapidly decomposed to dust as was blown away by the draft along the floor.

The scream was just enough to cause Eudial to slow down her own attack enough to look back and allow Sailor Moon to catch up with hers. The two let their attacks go at the exact moment. Meeting in the air, the Moon Spiral Heart Attack and Eudial's Fire Buster compressed each other down to a pin-point before rapidly expanding outwards, blowing everyone back. Chris pressed his feet down as tightly as possible, skidding back. Looking up, he saw Eudial waving her gun back and forth over the group.

"All right, no more playing around. All of you move together. Move it!" screamed the witch. Realizing that they should've attacked Eudial in unison with their Princess, the _senshi_ gritted their teeth and pooled together as Chris tried to tiptoe out of view. "You, too! I don't know who the hell you are, but you're going to pay for killing off my creation!"

Chris rolled his eyes and turned around, shuffling towards the _senshi_. Approaching them, he nodded to Uranus and quipped, "Hey sis. How've you been recently?"

"No talking!" warned the witch, right as a horde of UFO catcher dolls cascaded down on her. "What the…" she barked, turning to see Minako standing a few meters away. Before she could react, the blonde girl was engulfed in a bright orange glow, which stripped away to reveal the _senshi _of love and beauty, Sailor Venus. Without hesitating a bit, Venus called out "Venus Love Me Chain!" and used her attack to smack the gun out of Eudial's hand. The witch, discovering her position to be untenable, retreated to her vehicle before any more attacks came and burned rubber out of the garage.

Watching the vehicle disappear around the corner and out of the garage, Chris remarked to no one in particular, "You know, I think you were all inconspicuous enough. She probably doesn't know who any of you are, really." He shrugged as the _senshi_ all gave him befuddled glances. "What? You thought I didn't know?"

Uranus simply shook her head at her brother and spun on her heels, followed closely by Neptune, to leave the garage. Behind them, Usagi called out, "Wait. Haruka, Michiru, please tell me what you are after. Why do you want the talisman even if it would sacrifice one's life?"

"Don't investigate it," called Uranus, without even turning around.

Michiru at least even bothered to face Usagi. "You shouldn't get involved."

The other _senshi _wordlessly watched Uranus and Neptune leave. Shaking his head, Chris walked over to Venus and put his hand on her shoulder. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, looking down at the floor. "Why didn't you say who you…"

Backpedaling away from the Princess of Venus and cutting her off, Chris said, "I'll explain it later. I have to chat with those two." He turned on the move and ran out of the garage, leaving the others doubly confused, having just learned the identities of Uranus and Neptune, whom they had believed to be cold people, in direct contrast to their normal identities, and confused about who Chris really was.

Mars looked at the dusty remains of the _daimon _and the burned rubber from Eudial's car on the ground. "Are they the enemy?"

"Who?" asked Mercury.

"Uranus and Neptune."

"Possibly," replied Jupiter. "But what about Chris? He just flattened that _daimon_ without breaking a sweat. He's much more powerful than any single person we've seen recently."

The others nodded, except for Venus, who was looking out the garage door, watching Chris's form disappear from sight. 'Who are you?'

* * *

Outside, Chris ran up to the now-returned-to-normal Haruka and Michiru quietly walking down the street. He slowed to a walk directly behind them. Placing his left hand on Michiru's left shoulder and his right hand on Haruka's right shoulder, he stopped them and spun them around. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"How about you explain what the hell that was that you just did? Who are you?" shot back Haruka.

Glaring at his sister, Chris growled, "I'm your older brother, that's who, and I asked you a question first. What is wrong with you two? My God, are you two even aware that you're _senshi_?"

Calmly, but with a faint hint of venom in her voice, Michiru pointed to a restaurant across the street. "How about we discuss things in there?"

Still staring each other down, the siblings nodded their heads and followed the wavy-haired woman across the street. Inside, they were seated by the hostess in a secluded part of the restaurant, and the theatrics resumed.

"We have nothing to explain to you," replied Michiru. "You obviously know who we are, but we don't know who you are. Until we do, you'll never deserve any sort of explanation from us."

"Oh, is that so, Princess Neptune? I didn't realize you were such a fabulous negotiator. Maybe I should rethink my strategy and get the information out of you some other way." Before he could say anything else, a waitress approached and prompted them for their drink orders. "Coffee. No cream, no sugar," Chris idly replied, not taking his eyes off of the pair seated across from them.

"Green tea," added Michiru, not taking her eyes off of Chris.

Haruka ordered the same before telling the waitress that none of them would be ordering any food. As the waitress shuffled off to fill the order, Haruka resumed fire. "Just answer the damn question. I want to know how the hell you know who we, and the others, are and who exactly you are. How do I know if you're even my brother? That Usagi has a brother, but I'm sure he doesn't share in the powers she has."

"Oh, offended by a little sarcasm directed at someone else? Boo-hoo. No, you two sorry excuses for soldiers are going to tell me what your game is. You're flagrantly disregarding the lives of others to complete your so-called 'mission,' and that is absolutely unacceptable to me."

Michiru coolly replied, "I'm not regretting any of it. What we just did we had to to save our lives. Also I wanted to save those girls."

Chris flicked his hand in Michiru's direction, "Oh, so the one time you do, in fact, think of someone else makes up for all the other times that you nearly got someone else killed because you couldn't be bothered with protecting them and capturing heart crystals for yourselves? Oh, yeah, I'll just write all those other times off, sure." As the waitress returned with their drinks, Chris stalled his comments. Nodding politely to her, Chris waited until she had retreated away from the feud. "I mean come on. How dare you way the life of one or two people against the lives of the world? The only thing you're comparing is the weight. Other than that, you have absolutely no right to pass on their lives just because you're too engrossed in finding these all-important talismans."

Looking at the two, Chris could tell he wasn't going to get any sort of response. "Okay, fine." He took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat. "It's very simple. Whereas Shingo, Usagi's brother, is not the reincarnation of someone from the Moon Kingdom, I am. What does that mean? Well, he's blood-related to Usagi, but not to Princess Serenity. So he's only her brother half the time. I, on the other hand, am, in fact, the reincarnation of someone from the Moon Kingdom. I am the Prince of Uranus, your brother," he said, pointing at Haruka. "So no matter what form you are in, I am still your brother, combat officer extraordinaire of the 9th Infantry Division of the White Moon Kingdom."

Haruka looked uneasily at her tea before replying. "Why did you keep this from me until now if you already knew who I was?"

"Because I wasn't ready for everyone to know, let alone you. My job during the time of the Moon Kingdom was to run the administrative duties behind the Sailor _senshi._ You were a formal military unit in the White Moon Kingdom Military, but it seemed rather stupid for Princess Venus to be bogged down in paperwork and other glorious administrative work while she was supposed to be protecting the Princess. So I was brought in to run the unit's administrative section. I was also an advisor. Having seen much combat in my time, I was well versed in the tactics of our enemies. But more importantly, I was to protect you all. At that, I, admittedly, failed miserably."

"But why hide yourself?" asked Michiru, not satisfied with the side-step Chris had performed.

"I said, I wasn't ready. I wanted to observe you all for a while, see if you have changed. And, I must say, some changes have taken place. Like you, missy," he again pointed at Haruka, "have changed more than I can believe. I'm almost unsure if you really are reincarnate of my sister. She was the happiest, most wonderful little sister in history. What happened to you? Your entire life you've seemed aloof. You used to be overjoyed to see me. Now what? And she was such a great soldier. She would never, ever think about tasks the way you do. Nor would your former self, Michiru. Neither of your former selves would ever have weighed one life against any others, no matter how great the number." He shook his head and sighed. "What is wrong with you two?"

Shaking her head, Haruka responded, "You of all people should know, Chris. This is something far too great. We're talking the destruction of the entire world. Every life gone. It's imperative that we find these sacred talismans as soon as possible, and far more importantly, that we get them before the other side can. Can you imagine the destruction they could wield?"

"Yes, I can. My country dropped two things of similar power here back in 1945. I am well aware of the destruction they could rain down on the world if they got the talismans."

"Then how can you not understand what we're doing?" prompted Michiru.

"Because I look at you two and I see two misguided teenage girls who all of the sudden have been thrown into a very desperate situation and they are acting on impulse, that's why."

Haruka had to restrain herself from slamming her fist on the table. "Impulse? You think I want to give a ruling on someone else's life? You think I want to say 'so sorry, but I have a job to do' to someone I don't even know because if I don't, not only that person, but a whole lot more will die? We're going about this the only way we can, with the utmost speed and precision. It's a terrible thing to say, but it wouldn't only be just 'waste of time' if we helped first and then went for heart crystals."

"Haruka," he quietly said, "you're far too young and inexperienced for me to expect you to understand why you're wrong, but I look at the other _senshi _and I realize that they 'get it.' They know just as well as you two do the danger this situation poses all of the world, but they can't possibly let even one life be wasted away making sure that a heart crystal is the right one or not."

"Youth and inexperience? You think we're too young and inexperienced?" replied Michiru, icily. "Don't lecture me on how to do my job. When the world goes out without even a whimper because those other girls and you are too busy looking at the microscopic to see the big picture, I guess we won't be around to say 'we told you so,' will we?"

"Michiru…" Haruka said, gingerly placing her hand on top of Michiru's.

The other woman recoiled. "No, Haruka. I'm not listening to this. I like those girls, but I cannot do things as they do. This is a situation bigger than any one person. If I have to, I am willing to make sacrifice someone to help save this world. I won't let anything get in my way, and I am not going to be lectured by you, Chris. I know my duty. Maybe you're forgetting that you swore to protect the Kingdom, too. Don't talk to me like its 'easy' to make that decision that I have to sacrifice someone."

"Oh come off it. The other _senshi_ have proven to you that you don't have to sacrifice anyone. They continually clean up not only the mess created by the enemy but inflammation of it all that you two cause. Why not help sometime?" A silence befell the table as Chris drank his coffee, looking out the window at the setting sun. "Back during Malden, I made a very impulsive decision. Maybe I didn't have to do it, but I just acted on anger, rage, hatred, and a little impulse that said it was 'my duty.'" Swirling the remaining coffee around in his cup, Chris looked up at the two women seated across from him. "Every day I think about the look on the guy's face. Every day I wonder if it made any difference at all, if he would've died later on, if he would've lived, if he would've killed one of my guys someday, or he would've done nothing at all. But I didn't think about that, I just 'did my duty,' acted on that impulse, and made the world safe for everyone. I just pulled that trigger and I executed him. Five shots to the chest, his eyes wide in horror, fixated on my face." Chris finished the last bit of his coffee and stood, grabbing his jacket and putting it on after dropping a few money notes on the table. "Right now, you're just how I was at that moment. Maybe someday you'll understand that feeling and learn to overcome it. Sooner, rather than later, I hope."

The two women sat stunned in silence, not even watching Chris leave the restaurant. After a while, Haruka managed to say, "Don't listen to him, Mich. I'm not letting him scare me like that."

"I know. It's hard, but we have to keep going," she replied, leaning on her companion.

"He just doesn't understand it." Haruka couldn't shake the feeling, though, that maybe there was even just a little bit of truth to what he had said. Maybe they didn't have to… 'No. We're doing the right thing. I know it.' Quietly, the two paid for their drinks and returned to their apartment for the night, unaware that they'd have to sacrifice no one's lives but their own to find the talismans that they had been searching for so hard.

* * *

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: Bravo26Flashpoint(at)yahoo(dot)com (You can tell I LOVE how deals with e-mail addys in stories) 


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